The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidates for Changhua County and Chiayi are neck and neck with their Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) counterparts, but they are gaining an edge as the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections approach, DPP campaigners said.
The party’s position in the central municipalities is precarious, including Changhua County Commissioner Wei Ming-ku’s (魏明谷) re-election bid, DPP campaigners said.
Wei’s support rate lagged behind KMT candidate Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) by 15 percentage points in July, when the DPP administration’s pension reforms took effect, but the DPP’s most recent survey showed that the gap has narrowed to 2 percentage points, the campaigners said.
Wei’s support had also been affected by the central government’s performance, including its amendment of the Air Pollution Control Act (空氣污染防制法) and handling of the flooding in the central and southern regions last month, they said.
Asked about the effect of the DPP’s strategy of capitalizing on Wang’s connection to his hometown — Lugang Township (鹿港) — the campaigners said it is taking effect gradually.
Wei has started launching promotions highlighting his administration’s accomplishments, such as improving the county’s transportation, “green” energy development and social welfare system, and plans to release more targeted ads focused on local towns or to work with mayors of special municipalities, they said.
Comparing the elections to a marathon, DPP Secretary-General Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said that candidates need perseverance while at the same time showcasing their accomplishments.
While Wang is performing well now, her shortcomings might be exposed in the long run, Hung said.
DPP Chiayi Mayor Twu Shiing-jer’s (涂醒哲) re-election bid has also stabilized, as pan-blue support appears split between two candidates — the KMT’s official candidate, Huang Min-hui (黃敏惠), and Chiayi City Council Speaker Hsiao Shu-li (蕭淑麗), who is running as an independent, Hung said.
After the flooding in the central and southern regions on Aug. 23, Twu now has the highest support rate, while Huang has slid to second place, he added.
As for the New Taipei City mayoral race, the DPP has been seriously affected by the scandal involving former Transitional Justice Commission deputy chairman Chang Tien-chin (張天欽), who allegedly planned to draft a dismissal law to target KMT mayoral candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜), DPP campaign members said.
DPP New Taipei City mayoral candidate Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) was about to catch up with Hou’s support ratings, but the scandal has affected his standing, which might remain this way for some time, Su’s campaign office said.
Taiwanese are to go to the polls on Nov. 24 to choose special municipality mayors and councilors; city mayors and county commissioners and councilors; Aboriginal district representatives and councilors; township mayors and councilors; and borough wardens and village chiefs.
A series of discussions on the legacy of martial law and authoritarianism are to be held at the Taipei International Book Exhibition this month, featuring findings and analysis by the Transitional Justice Commission. The commission and publisher Book Republic organized the series, entitled “Escaping the Nation’s Labyrinth of Memory: What Authoritarian Symbols and Records Can Tell Us,” to help people navigate narratives through textual analysis and comparisons with other nations. The four-day series is to begin on Thursday next week with a discussion between commission Chairwoman Yang Tsui (楊翠), Polish-language translator Lin Wei-yun (林蔚昀), and Polish author and artist Pawel Gorecki comparing
TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT: A US Air Force KC-135 tanker came less than 1,000 feet of an EVA plane and was warned off by a Taipei air traffic controller, a report said A US aerial refueling aircraft came very close to an EVA Airways jet in the airspace over southern Taiwan, a military aviation news Web site said. A report published by Alert 5 on Tuesday said that automatic dependent surveillance–broadcast (ADS-B) data captured by planfinder.net on Wednesday last week showed a US Air Force KC-135 tanker “coming less than 1,000 feet [305m] vertically with EVA Air flight BR225 as both aircraft crossed path south of Taiwan” that morning. The report included an audio recording of a female controller from the Taipei air traffic control center telling the unidentified aircraft that it was
MOVING OUT: A former professor said that rent and early education costs in Taipei are the nation’s highest, which makes it difficult for young people to start families The population of Taipei last year fell to the lowest in 23 years due to high rent, more transportation options and the expansion of northern cities into a single metropolis, academics and city officials said on Monday. Data released this month by the Ministry of the Interior showed that the capital was home to 2,602,418 people last year, down 42,623 from 2019. The decline is second only to 1993, when the population fell by 42,828 people, while Taipei’s population was the lowest it has been since 1997. Taipei saw the biggest drop among the six special municipalities, while Taoyuan led the group in
‘EFFECTIVE DETERRENCE’: If the Biden administration suspends arms sales to Taiwan, the military could still ready a nimble fighting force for defense, an analyst said The “US Strategic Framework for the Indo-Pacific” last week sparked debate among analysts after US President Donald Trump declassified the document 20 years ahead of schedule. Trump on Tuesday last week released the document that had governed US strategic action in the region since the US leader approved its use in 2018. The document, which outlines US priorities in the region, emphasizes the importance of defending Taiwan against military aggression and facilitating the country’s development of asymmetric strategies and capabilities. The overall directive of the document is for the US to prevent China from establishing sustained air and sea dominance inside the first
RSS