Small parties on Saturday made political inroads by winning local seats in the nine-in-one elections.
In its first time competing for local government offices since its formation in August 2019, the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) won 14 city and county councilor seats, performing the best among the smaller political parties.
The TPP, chaired by Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), secured four seats in the capital, Taipei, and a total of 10 in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City, Taichung, and Changhua, Hsinchu, Hualien, Nantou and Yunlin counties.
The TPP won more seats than older counterparts such as the New Power Party (NPP), which secured six seats, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) with three seats, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party with two, and the New Party and the Social Democratic Party with one seat each.
The TPP fielded 90 candidates in Saturday’s elections, including 48 in the six special municipalities — Kaohsiung, New Taipei City, Taichung, Taipei, Tainan and Taoyuan — which showed that the party was focused on urban areas, observers said.
The NPP lost ground with the number of seats it held at the city and county level falling sharply from 16 to six, after it lost all five of its seats in Taipei.
The party said it failed to meet its expectations in the elections and expressed regret to its supporters.
NPP Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) yesterday also announced that she was resigning from her post.
TSU Chairman Liu Yi-te (劉一德) said his party put forward five candidates for city and county council seats, winning one each in Yunlin County, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
In the six special municipalities, where a total of 377 councilor seats were up for grabs, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) won 167, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took 152, the TPP gained six and the NPP secured one.
Of the 533 seats in the other 16 cities and counties, the KMT won 200, the DPP 152, the TPP eight and the NPP five.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued a sea alert for Typhoon Fung-wong (鳳凰) as it threatened vessels operating in waters off the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), the Bashi Channel and south of the Taiwan Strait. A land alert is expected to be announced some time between late last night and early this morning, the CWA said. As of press time last night, Taoyuan, as well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties had declared today a typhoon day, canceling work and classes. Except for a few select districts in Taipei and New Taipei City, all other areas and city