Ho Chih-wei (何志偉) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday won the Taipei legislative by-election, while Shen Chih-hwei (沈智慧) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) declared victory in the Taichung legislative by-election.
A total of nine candidates competed in the two by-elections held to fill two seats vacated after the local elections in November last year.
Ho beat the KMT’s Chen Ping-fu (陳炳甫) and independents Chen Su-yu (陳思宇), Chen Yuan-chi (陳源奇) and Wang Yi-kai (王奕凱) for the seat representing the city’s second electoral district, left vacant by the DPP’s Pasuya Yao (姚文智), who gave up his seat as a legislator to run, unsuccessfully, for Taipei mayor.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
There were 266,907 eligible voters in the electoral district, official data showed.
Ho received 38,591 votes, followed by Chen, who garnered 31,532 votes.
Voter turnout was 30.39 percent.
In Taichung, Shen beat the DPP’s Wang Yi-chuan (王義川), independent Chiu Yu-shan (邱于珊) and the United Party’s Lin Chung-sheng (林忠勝) for the seat representing the city’s fifth electoral district, which was vacated by the KMT’s Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), who was elected Taichung mayor in November last year.
There were 337,848 registered voters in the electoral district, official data showed.
Shen received 49,230 votes, followed by Wang’s 32,903 votes. Voter turnout was 25.34 percent.
Four more by-elections are to be held on March 16: in Tainan’s second electoral district, in Changhua County’s first electoral district, in New Taipei City’s third electoral district and in Kinmen County.
Voters in Tainan are to pick a successor to former DPP legislator Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), who was elected Tainan mayor in the local elections.
They would also elect replacements for former KMT legislator Wang Hui-mei (王惠美), who was elected Changhua county commissioner, and former KMT legislator Andy Yang (楊鎮浯), who won the race for Kinmen County chief.
The legislative by-election in New Taipei City is to pick a successor to former DPP legislator Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬), who was stripped of his seat after the Supreme Court last month sentenced him to four years and six months in jail and deprived him of his civil rights for four years for corruption.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by