The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday suffered a resounding defeat in Hualien County and narrowly won in Taitung County.
Independent Fu Kun-chi (傅崑萁) secured 85,532 votes, or 56.37 percent of the total ballots in Hualien County. His rivals, KMT candidate Du Li-hua (杜麗華) garnered 38,603 votes, while independent Zhang Zhi-ming (張志明) got 27,595 votes.
The KMT’s defeat was a blow to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as party chairman, as eastern Taiwan has long been a traditional pan-blue stronghold. In the 2005 elections, Hualien County Commissioner Hsieh Shen-san (謝深山) of the KMT grabbed 42.66 percent of the total vote. The KMT collected 39.28 percent in the 2001 elections. The best showing ever by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Hualien County was 43.24 percent in 1997.
Fu, the first candidate to declare victory yesterday, said he did not have the support of any party, chairman or superstar, but he had the backing of the “common people.”
“I heard the voice of the common people,” he said. “They come from the great people of Hualien.”
Fu was barred by the KMT from taking part in the party primary because he was found guilty in first and second trials for illegally speculating in Taiwan Pineapple Group shares. Fu lamented the central government’s negligence of the county and vowed to serve the county’s residents so they would no longer be “third-class citizens.”
Thanking late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) for building the Northern Line (北迴鐵路) railway, Fu said a far-sighted national leader should be able to foresee the future development and meet the needs of the people. Just one day before the election, Ma presided over a ceremony in Hualien to mark the start of a railway electrification project on a line that connects the two eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung.
Du, who conceded defeat about an hour after Fu proclaimed victory, said she would have brought change to the county.
Former minister of health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) visited her to offer encouragement. Yeh had been considered Ma’s handpicked candidate for Hualien County commissioner.
Zhang withdrew from the KMT to run as an independent and obtained the backing of Hsieh and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Hsieh is facing party discipline for supporting Zhang. Hsieh attended Zhang’s rally on Friday but said he did not go to endorse Zhang but to “see and thank” his supporters.
Juan Kang-meng (阮剛猛), KMT Disciplinary Committee director, said they have asked the party’s Hualien chapter to collect evidence. As the local chapter’s party disciplinary committee would hold a meeting on Monday, the party headquarters disciplinary committee was likely to call a meeting on Tuesday to decide how to deal with the matter.
Zhang said if the party decides to punish Hsieh, it should punish all the 5,000 to 6,000 people who attended his rally on Friday.
In Taitung County, KMT candidate Justin Huang (黃健庭) obtained 56,354 votes, beating his DPP contender Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) by 5,552 votes.
In the 2005 election, independent Wu Chun-li (吳俊立) garnered 59.18 percent of the total ballots in the three-way race.
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