The political geography was little changed yesterday as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and its ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), failed to boost their local standings.
Taipei City residents did not enthusiastically take part in the election. Statistics showed only 61 per-cent of voters cast ballots.
PHOTO: WU CHENG-TING, TAIPEI TIMES
In northern Taipei City, or district one, the pan-green camp and the pan-blue camp split the 10 seats down the middle. But the district was the only place the DPP's ballot-allocation strategy worked.
In district two, the pan-blue camp of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the People First Party (PFP) and New Party, retained their strong influence.
The KMT and the DPP each won three seats, the PFP took two and the TSU won one. Independent Li Ao (
The KMT's Lai Shyh-bao (
In Taipei County, the DPP held onto its 11 seats but its ally didn't fare as well. The TSU lost one of the two seats it had gained in 2001 election. The pan-blue camp added three more seats to the 13 it won in 2001 for a total of 16. KMT candidate Wu Yu-sheng (
Although President Chen Shui-bian (
In Taichung City, the pan-green and the pan-blues evenly split the eight seats being contested.
In Yunlin County, the pan-greens gained some ground, although the election was affected by the arrest of former county commissioner Chang Jung-wei (
The pan-greens added one seat to the two they won in the country in 2001 with the victory of TSU councilwoman Yin Lin-in (
In Chiayi County, the DPP safeguarded its three seats by taking 63 percent of the vote, while a KMT candidate won the other seat.
In Tainan County, home not only to President Chen but fanatic pan-green supporters, the DPP held onto its five seats by taking al-most half the votes. The KMT won two seats and an independent candidate took the remaining seat.
In Tainan City, the pan-green camp lost one of the four seats won in 2001 as the TSU's candidate lost. The KMT won two seats and a PFP candidate won one.
In the two electoral districts of Kaohsiung City, the pan-greens gained about 53 percent of the vote, a significantly improvement over the 48 percent won in 2001.
The DPP's Lee Kun-tse (
But the pan-green's vote-allocation strategy didn't work in the southern dis-trict, where they lost one seat. The greens won seven seats, the KMT took two and the PFP won two.
In Pingtung County, the DPP lost one of its four seats. The KMT won two seats and and an independent candidate took one.
In eastern Taiwan, the pan-blues continued their tradition of strong showings. In Taitung County, KMT Legislator Huang Chien-ting (
In Hualien County, DPP Legislator Lu Po-chi (
In offshore counties, independents and other candidates did well. Penghu County's sole seat was won by Lin Ping-kun (
Four Aboriginal candidates were elected in plains townships. The DPP's Chen Ying (
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition