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.
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