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KMT takes back Hualien mayoralty

KMT takes back Hualien mayoralty
KMT takes back Hualien mayoralty

KMT takes back Hualien mayoralty

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Kuomintang candidate Wei Chia-hsien was elected mayor of Hualien City Saturday in what was billed as the first popularity test for the central government since President Tsai Ing-wen took office last May.
Democratic Progressive Party incumbent Tien Chih-hsuan died of lung cancer last May, forcing a by-election to find a successor.
His party nominated his widow, Chang Mei-hui, as its mayoral candidate, while the KMT picked county councilor Wei.
As vote counting began Saturday afternoon, Wei soon built up a narrow lead, and ended up winning with 17,913 votes against 13,932 votes for Chang. Three independent candidates who were expelled from the KMT for running against its official choice finished far behind. Hualien City has 81,484 eligible voters, with a varied ethnic composition.
Wei declared victory around 5 p.m., about an hour after polling stations closed, while Chang accepted defeat shortly later. An official result was going to be announced by the local election commission at around 7 p.m., reports said.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu spent the past few days in the city on Taiwan’s east coast to stump for its candidate. She pictured the race as an opportunity to show disaffection with the president and the central government on the 100th day of their rule. The KMT also blamed the government for the falling numbers of tourists from China visiting the country. As Hualien County is one of the major draws for foreign visitors, the region has also suffered, the opposition party said.
Opinion polls released Friday showed that while Tsai still enjoyed the support of half the public, Premier Lin Chuan for the first time had more people dissatisfied with him than otherwise.