The DPP suffered a blow in yesterday's county commissioner and city mayoral elections, with five of the party's incumbents losing to KMT challengers. The ruling party ended up with nine mayor and commissioner seats, down from its previous 12.
The KMT's Jason Hu (胡志強) was elected mayor of Taichung City, garnering over 200,000 votes, or about 50 percent of the total ballots.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Observers said Hu's election was attributable to internal disputes within the DPP. The independent candidate and incumbent Mayor Chang Wen-ying (張溫鷹.) dropped her DPP party membership after she failed to gain her party's nomination for the mayoral race.
Her participation in the campaign was viewed as having diverted votes from the DPP's nominee Michael Tsai (蔡明憲).
In Taoyuan County, the KMT's Chu Li-luan (朱立倫) beat a DPP incumbent to be elected county commissioner with about 55 percent of the votes in the county. The seat, once held by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), has been held by the DPP since 1997.
KMT candidate Cheng Yung-chin (
Incumbent Hsinchu City Mayor Tsai Jen-chien (
Observers cited Tsai's recent indictment for corruption and a controversial relationship with Taichung City New Party legislative candidate Chu Mei-feng (璩美鳳) for his defeat.
Liao Yung-lai (
In Keelung City, DPP Mayor Lee Chin-yung (李進勇) lost his post to the speaker of the city's municipal council, Hsu Tsai-li (許財利) of the KMT, who gained a decisive victory with 58 percent of the vote.
Nantou County's incumbent commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (
Seven candidates competed for the Nantou commissioner seat, with two candidates running from the KMT, one from the PFP, one from the DPP, and three independents. Since the 921 earthquake, Peng has come under repeated attack for suspected mishandling of billions of New Taiwan dollars in reconstruction funds.
Meanwhile, Lee Chu-feng (李炷烽) won the New Party's first county commissioner seat in Kinmen County, garnering over 56 percent of the vote.
Lee, who represents Kinmen in the legislature, had unsuccessfully run twice before for the commissioner's seat. Lee edged out his main rival in the race DPP Legislator Chen Zau-nan (陳昭南).
The PFP won two seats in Taitung County and Lien Chiang County, more commonly known as Matsu. Chen Hsueh-sheng (
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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