The most important election in Taiwan's short democratic history -- to choose its leader for the post-Lee Teng-hui (
On the final night of campaigning, as mandated by law, all three candidates drove themselves to the brink of exhaustion with last-minute efforts to sway voters. Mostly on foot, they "swept the streets" by walking through key townships, pressing the flesh as they went, stopping only to hold a number of mass rallies.
Each camp expressed its confidence of victory, though members of some expressed concern that last-minute vote-buying by rivals could sway the outcome.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG
The KMT, as had been expected, brought in its heavyweights to help the party's candidate, Chang Cheng-hsiung (
The honor guard included KMT Secretary-General John Chang (
Dripping sweat from the intensity of the day, the KMT candidate passed from door to door shaking voters' hands. With supporters filling the narrow streets of his hometown amid the din of the firecrackers, officials said they were feeling ever-more optimistic.
Meanwhile, the DPP's candidate, Lin Chung-li (
Lin, escorted by DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (
At least one time during the day, the two camps came face-to-face on a street -- though no incidents of violence were reported.
While nothing is for certain in this race, all three candidates' camps had the same message -- that they will be taking home the main prize today, barring unforeseen incidents.
Liao Feng-jung (1顳p榮), a KMT official in the Yunlin county office, estimated that the party's candidate would garner around 147,000 votes. Kao Meng-ting (高孟定), Chang Jung-wei's campaign manager, predicted Chang will take away 148,000 votes. And DPP official Chou Yi-cheng (周弈|? said Lin is expected to gain 130,000 votes.
A total of 530,000 residents are eligible to vote in the by-election, and many observers expect a voter turnout of approximately 60 percent.
KMT organization department chief Johnson Chen (3紐?g) said the difference between Chang Cheng-hsiung and Chang Jung-wei will be fewer than 3,000 votes. He said the KMT had to boost its candidate's support along the county's coastal areas if it hoped to win.
From observing conditions in Yunlin County, however, it appears that the specter of vote-buying could well be the deciding factor in the race -- something both party officials and analysts have been saying from the beginning.
It is widely claimed that two of the candidates are attempting to buy votes with prices of NT$500 and NT$1,000 per vote, respectively.
In certain areas, such as an opponent's hometown, prices are said to be as high as NT$3,000.
DPP secretary-general Yu Shyi-kun said he worried about last-minute vote-buying today, just before voters begin filing into polling stations around the county.
Another official at Chang Jung-wei's headquarters said if no more money is injected into the "market," the independent candidate is definitely going to win.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS