Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) beat fellow lawmaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) in a public opinion poll to win the party’s primary for the Greater Taichung mayoral election in December, the party announced yesterday.
“Lin has won in an accumulated public opinion poll, which included surveys conducted by three companies on Monday night and pitted both candidates against Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強),” DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) told a press conference.
Lin beat Hu in support rates, 44.7 percent to 23.6 percent, while Tsai also edged Hu by 34.3 percent to 29.1 percent. Lin and Tsai were both elected in the Greater Taichung constituency in the last legislative election.
Under the DPP’s regulations, if all aspirants beat the designated rival in public opinion polls, the one with the highest support wins.
Lin, 49, said his win shows Greater Taichung residents recognized his 10 years of hard work in the constituency. He also praised Tsai’s sportsmanship throughout the primary.
However, Lin said his lead over Hu in the primary could be misleading because Greater Taichung has always been an election battleground. Complacency could be dangerous, he said.
Born and raised in Yunlin County, Lin has built up close ties with Taichung over the past decade and has always made clear his intention to run for the mayor after moving to the city.
He ran in the 2005 mayoral election, but lost to Hu. He wanted to run in 2010, but withdrew from the DPP’s primary to make way for former DPP secretary-general Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) to challenge Hu.
The Yale-educated Lin served as a consultant to the National Security Council, head of the former Government Information Office, Executive Yuan spokesperson and deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office during the 2000 to 2008 administration of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Taichung is considered a key battleground for both the DPP and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in seven-in-one special municipality elections in December.
Tsai said he was proud of what he has achieved in the 55 days since he announced on Nov. 5 that he would contest the primary.
Meanwhile, Hu remains mum on his plans.
“I am not a candidate for the mayoral election. I will not comment on the DPP primary,” he said.
The 66-year-old Hu, who served as Taichung mayor for eight years before being elected as Greater Taichung mayor following the city’s upgrade to a special municipality, has seen his support rating decline recently. The KMT has urged him to discuss his election plans amid concerns about his ratings, but he remains noncommittal.
KMT spokesman Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中) said the party will spend more time finalizing its candidates for Greater Taichung and other special municipalities where the electoral situation is complicated.
Greater Taichung Deputy Mayor Shyu Jong-shyong (徐中雄) said he was willing to run for mayor, but only if Hu decides not to seek re-election.
“I think there is a 90 percent chance that Hu will seek re-election. If he decides to run, I will support him,” Shyu said.
Vice Premier Hsiao Chia-chi (蕭家淇), and KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) are also possible KMT contenders.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
RSS