Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taichung mayoral candidate Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) yesterday won the election, as forecast by pre-election polls, ending Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) incumbent Jason Hu’s (胡志強) 13-year-governance of the city.
Lin garnered 847,284 votes, or 57.06 percent of the vote, defeating Hu’s 637,531. The DPP’s Lin had a landslide victory in the race, securing 209,753 more votes than Hu and 117,000 more than in 2010.
In the mayoral election four years ago, Hu received 730,284 votes, or 51.12 percent of the vote, while then-DPP candidate Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) received 698,358 votes. Even then the vote gap between the two was narrow, with Hu leading by only a little more than 30,000 votes.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The poll numbers before the election saw Lin in the lead, and the result confirmed the prediction.
As it became clear that he would lose the election before the official result was announced, the incumbent mayor appeared before the supporting crowd at about 7pm to express his gratitude to his supporters.
“The majority of the votes have been tallied. I think there’s no more need to defer my acknowledgment of defeat,” Hu said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“This is my own failure. I am not good enough and didn’t work hard enough. However, my campaign team has fought a good, flawless fight. There was no flaw in anybody’s performance or support during the campaign,” Hu said, adding that he “realized there was a possibility of losing the race.”
Lin also made a speech to his supporters before the Central Election Committee’s official statistics were announced, expressing gratitude and promising that he would be a mayor of all the city’s residents.
“I have to thank those who have voted for me to realize the ideals I’ve promised. However, I also have to express my gratitude, especially to those who have not been able to vote for me. Thank you for participating in this election, and your support will be the force to push us forward in the future,” Lin said.
Photo: Liao Yau-tung, Taipei Times
“We have received strong support particularly in the region that used to be Taichung County before the merger, and this has confirmed our observation that there is a problem of marginalization of the region and that a widened urban-rural divide exists,” he said. “Eliminating the gap and altering the uneven development will be our goal in the future.”
“The election has taken us beyond the barriers of generations and political parties. We have seen many young people’s passionate participation this time, reflected in their high turnout rate. We have also seen many who might have previously voted for the pan-blue camp voting for us this time,” Lin said.
“The votes, I believe, are not for me personally. This is a demonstration of civilism (市民主義) and Greater Taichung’s residents’ hope for a change,” he said.
GRAPHIC: TT
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
RSS