The Nantou County commissioner election is a unique one, with a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate and a former DPP candidate battling one another as well as a Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival.
It is widely believed that if the three-way situation continues, it will be more to the advantage of the KMT's candidate, Nantou City Mayor Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿).
Lee, however, has to overcome allegations that his wife, Chien Su-tuan (簡素端), has been conducting vote-buying activities on his behalf.
Chien had reportedly been giving out free gifts since July an an effort to persuade voters to support her husband. She has denied the allegations and is now out on bail of NT$1.5 million (US$44,753).
Previous vote-buying allegations have also come back to haunt Lee as his opponents have not hesitated to remind the electorate. When Lee sought re-election four years ago, many of his supporters, including vote captains, were questioned about vote-buying and at least nine of them were convicted.
Lee's main rival is Nantou County Commissioner Lin Tsung-nan (
The former member of the DPP's Central Standing Committee refused to step aside after losing the party primary to Tsai Huang-liang (
When Lin was elected four years ago, he became the first DPP commissioner in the county's history, garnering more than 94,000 votes, or 30,000 to 50,000 more than his pan-blue contenders.
Running as an independent is not necessarily a hindrance for Lin, since his predecessor Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯) had also dropped out of the DPP to run for the county's top post in 1997. Lin became the first non-KMT commissioner in the county.
Last week, Lin cried foul, accusing Lee of breach of trust because Lee reportedly had agreed in writing three years ago not run in this year's polls and to endorse Lin's re-election.
Lee, however, said he did not break his promise because there was a precondition when he signed the accord -- that he could run if Lin failed to do a good job.
The Nantou District Prosecutor's Office raided Lin's office yesterday and issued a summons, asking him to offer an account in response to various vote-buying allegations that have been leveled against him.
On Wednesday, prosecutors discovered an excessive amount of cash at Lin's campaign office in Puli. They said they failed to get an adequate explanation from the office manager about the money.
Lin's wife yesterday tearfully accused Tsai of pressuring prosecutors into conducting the search.
She also berated him for conducting a smear campaign against her husband.
Tsai has denied both allegations.
He had, however, previously called on the KMT to yank Lee out of the race because of the vote-buying charges.
Meanwhile, Tsai has gotten into hot water himself by condoning physical clashes between his supporters and Lin's on the campaign trail.
Tsai also came under fire from DPP Legislator Lin Yun-sheng (林耘生), who has alleged that Tsai meddled in the selection of the train communication system for the Taiwan Railway Administration in 2002.
Since Lin Yun-sheng's father is Lin Tsung-nan, his allegation was seen as just a ploy.
Lee's campaign manager, Hsiung Chun-ping (熊俊平), said yesterday that their campaign strategy was to use KMT heavyweights' charisma to invoke the "good old days" of the KMT administration's rule.
"The endorsement of such party bigwigs as KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), KMT Legislator Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and other KMT elites serves as the utmost guarantee of quality candidates," he said.
The latest poll, released last Friday by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' sister newspaper), placed Lee ahead of Lin and Tsai. The survey put Lee's approval rating at 23 percent, Tsai's at 17 percent and Lin's at 10 percent.
What is worth noting is that more than 37 percent of respondents declined to state their preference, while 12 percent said that they did not plan to vote. Whether swing voters will come out tomorrow is seen as a key factor.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RSS