The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) regained control over Yilan County yesterday as Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) defeated County Commissioner Lu Guo-hua (呂國華) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The victory in Yilan was particularly sweet for the DPP as it had said winning back its former stronghold would determine the party’s overall success in the midterm elections.
Lin, the chief of Luodong Township (羅東), won with 133,394 votes, or 54.26 percent, with Lu garnering 112,469 votes, or 45.74 percent.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO,TAIPEI TIMES
In 2005, Lu beat the popular former Yilan county commissioner, Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), garnering 51 percent of the votes. The win brought an end to 24 years of DPP rule in the county.
Media attributed Lin’s success partially to the endorsement delivered by Chen’s wife Chang Chao-yi (張昭義), who appeared at Lin’s rally on Friday. Chang made a symbolic gesture by handing Lin her late husband’s briefcase. Chen died of lung cancer in 2006.
Aware that Lu might lose his bid for re-election, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) paid about a dozen visits to Yilan during the campaign and made a last-minute plea for votes on Friday night. Lu conceded defeat at 7:05pm with Lin leading by about 20,000 votes.
“I just want to thank all our friends who have supported me throughout the election,” Lu said. “We simply have to face the voters’ choice with courage.”
Meanwhile, in Taoyuan County, KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) became the county’s 16th commissioner, but had to survive a valiant challenge from Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) of the DPP.
While Wu won, the DPP greatly improved on its result from four years ago.
Wu secured victory with 396,237 votes, or 52.22 percent, compared with Cheng’s 346,678 votes, or 45.69 percent.
Wu’s predecessor, Eric Chu (朱立倫), secured more than 60 percent of the votes in Taoyuan four years ago, beating his DPP challenger, former TAIYEN Co chairman Cheng Pao-ching (鄭寶清), who garnered about 38 percent of the votes.
Both Wu’s father, former KMT chairman Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄), and his grandfather, Wu Hung-lin (吳鴻麟), are former Taoyuan County commissioners.
In Keelung, Mayor Chang Tong-rong (張通榮) was re-elected with 55.11 percent of the ballot, defeating young DPP challenger Lin Yu-chang (林右昌).
Four years ago, the late Keelung mayor Hsu Tsai-li (許財利) won only 41 percent, outnumbering his Taiwan Solidarity Union opponent Chen Chien-ming (陳建銘) by about 10 percent. Hsu died of sepsis in 2007. His unfinished term was completed by Chang after a by-election.
The keenly contested election in Yilan and yesterday’s sunny weather motivated many people to return home and vote.
The Taiwan Railway Administration reported that express train tickets to Yilan County were sold out yesterday. Freeway bus operators also said their services to Yilan were fully booked.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS