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.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
Central and southern Taiwan are to see increasingly heavy rainfall from last night through Friday due to the effects of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said Tropical Storm Co-May had weakened into a low-pressure system on Saturday, but that it strengthened again into a tropical depression (TD 11) near the seas around Japan's Ryukyu Islands due to favorable environmental conditions. The tropical depression is expected to persist for two to three days, moving west-northwest by this afternoon and reaching China's Zhejiang through the East China Sea tomorrow,
RSS