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
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
Intelligence agents have recorded 510,000 instances of “controversial information” being spread online by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so far this year, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report yesterday, as it warned of artificial intelligence (AI) being employed to generate destabilizing misinformation. The bureau submitted a written report to the Legislative Yuan in preparation for National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today. The CCP has been using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society by commenting on controversial issues such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investments in the
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
‘COMPREHENSIVE PLAN’: Lin Chia-lung said that the government was ready to talk about a variety of issues, including investment in and purchases from the US The National Stabilization Fund (NSF) yesterday announced that it would step in to staunch stock market losses for the ninth time in the nation’s history. An NSF board meeting, originally scheduled for Monday next week, was moved to yesterday after stocks plummeted in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 32 percent tariffs on Taiwan on Wednesday last week. Board members voted to support the stock market with the NT$500 billion (US$15.15 billion) fund, with injections of funds to begin as soon as today. The NSF in 2000 injected NT$120 billion to stabilize stocks, the most ever. The lowest amount it
RSS