Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (
The high court on Friday overruled a district court ruling that annulled Chen's victory in last year's Kaohsiung mayoral election.
Expressing regret over the verdict, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Huang Chun-ying (
PHOTO: CNA
"I don't have the power to pressure the judges and influence the ruling. The second trial gave me justice, and I hope that everyone will respect the result," the mayor said during a visit to Tainan yesterday.
Chen Chu condemned the KMT for hindering the development of Kaohsiung by refusing to accept the election outcome and filing lawsuits against her.
"The KMT needs to acknowledge its defeat and stop causing disturbances. It's unfair to ask Kaohsiung citizens to pay the price for the election result," she said.
Chen Chu defeated Huang in the Dec. 9 poll last year by a margin of just 1,114 votes, or 0.14 percent of the total vote.
Huang filed two lawsuits on Dec. 28 -- one challenging the election process, the other the result.
The Kaohsiung District Court ruled in June that Chen's camp had violated the Election and Recall Law of Civil Servants because it used illegal means to hinder her rival's campaign. It annulled the poll results and called for a new election to be held.
The high court on Friday overruled the verdict in the first trial.
Huang said yesterday that he respected the ruling and would focus his efforts on campaigning for the KMT's legislative and presidential candidates.
KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Ma said only that he would urge voters to end negative campaigning by supporting the KMT in the upcoming elections.
"I believe that voters will say no to the party and candidates that use negative tactics. Justice is in the people's mind," Ma said yesterday after campaigning for legislative candidates in Tainan.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (
Su said the party would also hold a nationwide forum to warn supporters against being fooled or influenced by smear campaigns.
Meanwhile, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) dismissed allegations that he had known in advance that the high court would rule in favor of Chen Chu.
Ma was quoted by Chiang Ling-chun (
"I am not a fortune-teller, and the court is not owned by the DPP. How would I know the result in advance? I just expressed my opinion based on legal knowledge, experience and an appraisal of the first verdict," the president told reporters.
Vice President Annette Lu (
"It's immature for politicians to choose to respect the judiciary when they win and say they distrust it when they lose. They need to improve their understanding of democracy," Lu said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS