Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) was yesterday elected mayor of Hsinchu, defeating the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹) and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Lin Ken-jeng (林耕仁).
Kao, 38, declared victory at about 7:30pm. She is to become the first female mayor of Hsinchu and the youngest mayor or county commissioner ever elected in Taiwan.
Shen, who trailed Kao by 10,000 votes, conceded defeat before the final results were confirmed and congratulated Kao on her win.
Photo: CNA
Although the race was expected to be close, Lin lagged behind the other two candidates by a large margin as results began coming in after 4pm and conceded defeat.
In her victory speech, Kao thanked her parents, relatives, friends, supporters, campaign team and volunteers, as well as her opponents, who she said “proposed many good political platforms during the campaign and showed good sportsmanship.”
Calling her win “a victory for all Hsinchu residents and democracy,” she vowed to form a team based on merit and not political ideology, and to build Hsinchu into a city that makes people “feel happy and proud.”
She also said she would consider her opponents policy proposals and ask for their advice after taking office to ensure Hsinchu residents are prioritized under her leadership, she said.
Kao’s victory put the TPP in charge of a city that was governed by the KMT from 2005 to 2014 before the DPP took power, holding the office under former Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅), who resigned in July to contest the Taoyuan mayoral election.
Lin Chih-chien withdrew from that race after National Taiwan University revoked his master’s degree over charges of plagiarism in August.
Lin Chih-chien defeated his KMT opponent, former Hsinchu mayor Hsu Ming-tsai (許明財), in 2014 and won re-election in 2018 by a large margin over the same opponent, by 49.57 percent of the votes and 27.87 percent respectively.
The Hsinchu mayor’s office is a major win for the TPP, which was founded in 2019 and participated in local elections for the first time this year.
With a background in computer science and information engineering, Kao has worked at the Institute for Information Industry and Foxconn Technology Group’s Industrial Big Data Office.
As a legislator, she attracted attention for her proficiency in data analysis.
Her candidacy went through a rough campaign after she was accused of plagiarism in her doctoral thesis and of collecting a corporate salary while working at a government-affiliated institute.
She was on Thursday last week listed as a suspect in case after being accused by former assistants of making illegal payroll deductions and using public funds for personal gain, although her campaign spokeswoman, Hsu Chien-ching (徐千晴), said that being named was a “normal procedure when a case is launched by prosecutors.”
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS