The Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) won yesterday’s legislative by-election in Taichung’s second electoral district, defeating the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) and three other candidates.
Lin received 88,752 votes, or 52.3 percent, versus Yen’s 80,912 votes, or 47.7 percent, unofficial figures from the Taichung Central Election Commission showed, after the votes at all 258 polling stations had been counted. Yen conceded defeat at about 5:50pm.
In her victory speech, Lin thanked voters for their support, and pledged to work hard and serve the constituency.
Photo: CNA
Candidates were running for the position left vacant after former Taiwan Statebuilding Party legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) lost a recall vote in October last year.
In a statement yesterday, the DPP urged the public to “get back on the right track” now that the by-election was over, and show solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
KMT spokesman Ling Tao (凌濤) said the voices of local residents had been “engulfed by the state apparatus.”
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
The KMT would not lose heart, but would continue the fight so that voters could “remove the peremptory ruling party” in the 2024 presidential election, Ling said.
A number of suspected breaches of election laws were reported yesterday, including several people who allegedly took pictures of passers-by or placed cameras near polling stations.
It was reported that people took pictures of passers-by outside the polling stations at two elementary schools, while a man was suspected of using a hand-held counter near another elementary school’s polling station, Lin’s office said.
A woman who placed a camera about 30m from a polling station was asked to leave the site.
However, she allegedly used a camera hidden in a coffee cup to take pictures and was again told to leave.
Taichung police said they had reported the woman to local prosecutors, who would determine whether she was breaking the law.
The Taichung election commission said that a person who is found to have taken pictures with a camera within 30m of a polling station, or interfered with or created a disturbance during an election, could face a sentence of up to two years in prison, short-term imprisonment or a fine of up to NT$150,000, based on the Criminal Code.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui and Lin Liang-sheng
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
WRONG TIMING: The delegation’s trip has not only disappointed Taiwanese, but could send a wrong message to the global community, Tsai Ing-wen said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Vice Chairman Andrew Hsia (夏立言) yesterday left with a delegation for a trip to China, drawing fire for visiting at a time when Beijing has been conducting intensive military drills to pressure Taiwan. Before boarding, he told reporters that the delegation would be visiting Taiwanese communities and students in China, and possibly meet with Chinese officials. The Mainland Affairs Council on Tuesday night said that it was not the right time for political party members to visit China, as Beijing has been conducting military exercises since Thursday last week. President Tsai Ing- wen (蔡英文), chairperson of the Democratic
‘MILITARY PLAYBOOK’: It would have taken far longer for the PLA to put together the drills had they actually been in response to Nancy Pelosi’s visit, Joseph Wu said China is using military drills to prepare for an invasion of Taiwan, and its anger over US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit is just an excuse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. Speaking in English at a news conference in Taipei, Wu accused China of “gross violations of international law.” “China has used the drills in its military playbook to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan,” he said. “It is conducting large-scale military exercises and missile launches, as well as cyberattacks, disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to weaken public morale in Taiwan.” He said the Chinese
RSS