A TVBS poll suggests that student activist Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) would defeat outgoing Miaoli County Commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻) for the vacancy in the legislature left by Miaoli County commissioner-elect Hsu Yao-chang (徐耀昌).
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is still considering its candidate, while Liu is a possible candidate representing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The TVBS survey showed Chen had a support rate of 40 percent compared with 35 percent for Liu.
Photo: Su Meng-chuan, Taipei Times
Liu also faced a challenge from defeated DPP Miaoli County commissioner candidate Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻), who lead Liu in support by 50 percent to 28 percent in an earlier poll. However, Wu announced her withdrawal from the race on Tuesday, praising Chen for his decision to join the race, where non-KMT candidates normally face a tough battle.
Wu said she approves of Chen’s abilities, adding that she would root for any candidate that the DPP backs.
Before bursting onto the national scene as one of the student leaders of the Sunflower movement, Chen had already been active in social movements, with protests over a land expropriation case in Miaoli’s Dapu Borough (大埔) just one of his battlefields.
The incident involved the Miaoli County Government’s seizure of farmland to expand the Jhunan Township (竹南) science park, blocking off roads and sending excavators onto farmland awaiting harvest.
Dapu resident Chang Sen-wen (張森文) was found dead two months after his house was demolished by the Miaoli County authorities in July last year in the name of county development. His death was determined to be a suicide, though his family and supporters blamed the government.
Liu was barred from paying his respects to Chang by the deceased man’s family and supporters.
Chen admitted to throwing a shoe at the commissioner over the expropriations, prompting Liu to file a lawsuit that saw Chen made to pay NT$10,000.
Chen was also indicted by the Miaoli District Court for interfering with official duties and destroying property, among other charges related to the incident.
The poll was conducted by the TVBS Poll Center from Friday last week to Tuesday night. A total of 973 respondents aged 20 and above from the constituency were contacted.
The survey has a margin of error of 3.4 percentage points.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS