The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) Lu Kuo-hua (呂國華) yesterday demolished Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Chen Ding-nan's (陳定南) house of dreams yesterday, winning by a 10,000 vote margin in the race for Ilan County commissioner.
"I appreciate the people of Ilan giving me a chance to serve them in the Ilan County Government," Lu said after he declared victory last night.
"I am only an ordinary Ilan native but this county needs some changes. I can make that happen," Lu said.
IMPROVEMENT NEEDED
At the same time, Chen admitted defeat and congratulated his opponent on TV. He said that he accepted the result of the election, which indicated that there was room for him to improve.
"President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) campaigned for me four times" he said. "Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun even stayed with me for the last 10 days."
"I really appreciate their help and I would like to apologize both to them and to my supporters," he said.
CLOSE CALL
Lu received 121,463 votes to Chen's 112,853 votes.
Lu and Chen's race was a close one, because the difference between the two men yesterday was never more than 10,000 votes.
Nevertheless, Lu declared victory at around 6:40pm while the ballots were still being counted.
Chen decided to resign as minister of justice last January and return to his hometown to run in the election.
His KMT challenger, how-ever, gradually garnered more support, largely due to his record and popularity as mayor of Ilan City. Lu, who began his career as a social worker, has won recognition for his long-time devotion to Ilan.
To assist Chen's campaign, Yu and former DPP chairman Lin I-hsiung (林義雄) traveled to Ilan to stump for him for the final 10 days of the campaign.
Among Ilan County's 12 constituencies, Tungshan Township (冬山鄉) was regarded as the most important for Chen, because it is Yu's hometown. Chen defeated Lu there by a margin of 5,000 votes.
However, in Ilan City, where Lu is the mayor, Lu received 7,000 more votes than Chen.
HISTORY NO HELP
Twenty-four years ago, Chen ran for the commissioner's post in the same constituency and paved the way for long-term DPP control of the county after the party was formed in 1986.
Chen's self-discipline and exacting personality earned him considerable credibility and exposure, and this helped him in a successful run for the legislature a few years later.
In one of the more unusual moments during yesterday's polling -- and one captured by a a slew of photographers -- Chen Ding-nan's niece showed up to vote in a white wedding gown before going to her engagement party.
At his campaign headquarters last night, many supporters had tears in their eyes, while some vented their anger by slamming chairs on the ground.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS