Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Tainan yesterday saw their political “status quo” maintained after incumbent Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), both members of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), succeeding in being elected for a second term in office.
Chen received 993,300 votes, or 68.09 percent of the votes cast, while Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) mayoral candidate Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) received 450,647 votes, for 30.89 percent of the total.
Independent mayoral candidate Chou Ke-sheng (周可盛) received 14,925 votes, or 1.02 percent of the total.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Chen’s votes had increased from 821,089 votes, or 52.79 percent of the total in 2010.
Chen said she would continue her policies of helping Greater Kaohsiung’s transition to a more habitable city, maintaining district equality, increasing social welfare and helping industry become more innovative.
Chen also expressed gratitude to supporters for voting for her and being steadfast supporters of the DPP, and extended thanks to all of her campaign personnel as well, as she had been busy overseeing the rebuilding the city after the gas pipeline explosions in early August.
Graphic: TT
Meanwhile, Yang acknowledged that he lost the election and said it was “a severe setback,” but said that he wished to thank the people of Greater Kaohsiung who had supported him.
In Greater Tainan, although the mayoral candidates’ nominations of both parties had all but settled the question of who would win the election, the focus on the mayoral elections was instead on the number of votes that Lai would receive.
Though Lai’s popularity in the city was expected, pundits said that the more votes Lai received, the more it would help his future career.
Graphic: TT
Greater Tainan election results concluded with Lai receiving 711,557 votes, or 72.9 percent of the votes, while the KMT’s Huang Hsiu-shuang (黃秀霜) received 264,536 votes, or 27.1 percent of the total.
Compared with the results from the previous election in 2010, Lai’s votes have increased by 91,660 from 2010’s 619,897, and his support rate has increased by 12.49 percentage points from 60.41 percent.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS