Two defeated candidates in Saturday’s Taipei mayoral election yesterday began separate thank-you tours, saying they would take some time to think about what their next steps would be.
Taipei mayor-elect Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) received about 42.29 percent of the votes, winning in 11 of the city’s 12 districts, while Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) garnered 31.93 percent of the votes and independent candidate Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) received 25.14 percent.
Chen, along with his election campaign convener, former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), yesterday morning rode through the city on the back of a pickup truck to thank those who had voted for him.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Asked about the reason for his defeat — which one member of his team in a political talk show had attributed to a member of his decisionmaking team being a “gangster” — Chen said only he is to blame.
“I was the chief player in this election campaign, so I will be fully responsible for what I did, and I will not blame anyone,” he said before starting his tour.
Chen said that many people came to help him with good intentions, and that he welcomed any support by legal means.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Asked about what he would do next, Chen said he would “take a break and think for a while.”
Also from the back of a pickup truck, Huang thanked those who voted for her.
Asked about her feelings after the election, Huang said that she believes everything in life is a task.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
She had done her best, she added.
Despite her defeat, the election result showed that Taipei residents are willing to vote for a candidate who is neither from the pan-blue nor the pan-green camp, she said.
Asked if she would run for a legislative seat, Huang laughed and said that everyone seems to be eager to find a new job for her, but she will take some time to think about her next step.
The Central Election Commission has announced that a legislative by-election would be held in Taipei on Jan. 8 next year to fill the seat vacated by Chiang, who stepped down as legislator during his mayoral campaign.
Outgoing Taipei Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he had congratulated Chiang and asked him to select a project manager for the handover.
Ko also lauded Huang’s strong showing in the election.
Huang, who the TPP endorsed ahead of the mayoral election, has abundant political experience and dedication to serve the public, Ko said.
Garnering more than 342,000 votes as an independent candidate is not easy in Taipei, Ko said, adding that it shows there is a “third political force” in the capital.
However, he said that her defeat also meant that not enough people wanted continuity in Taipei City Hall, referring to Huang being a former deputy mayor in his administration.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS