Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) declared victory in the Taichung mayoral election on Saturday, beating her main rival Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Lu finished with 799,107 votes, or 59.35 percent of the total, with her primary opponent, Tsai, receiving 524,224 votes, or 38.93 percent, according to figures from the Central Election Commission (CEC).
The only other candidate, independent Chen Mei-fei (陳美妃), took 23,140 votes, or 1.72 percent.
In Lu’s victory speech, she fought back tears, thanking Taichung voters for rejecting negative campaigning against her, supporting women in politics and being open-minded enough to grant her a second term.
Taichung citizens also demonstrated their democratic credentials with voter turnout in the city highest among Taiwan’s six special municipalities (Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung) with 65 percent, Lu said.
“I will stay modest and work even harder to be a good mayor in return for every one’s support,” she said.
Tsai has conceded defeat around 7 p.m.. The vote count was still ongoing and the outcome of the election will not be confirmed until the Central Election Commission makes an official announcement.
Tsai congratulated Lu for winning the election, apologized to his supporters and vowed to continue working to help make Taichung a better place.
The results were not a surprise, as Lu had maintained a steady lead of 30-40 percent over Tsai in polls leading up to the election.
Pending confirmation by election officials, the victory means that Lu, 61, has become the first Taichung mayor to win re-election after the city was upgraded to a special municipality in 2010.
Traditionally seen as a “swing city,” Taichung has never consistently leaned toward a single party in recent elections, but the victory for Lu appeared relatively easy this year.
Lu, dubbed as “Mother Mayor” by pro-KMT media, maintained a low-key campaign during the election, as Tsai struggled to increase his visibility and name recognition.
The issue that saw the heaviest crossfire between the two candidates was air pollution, a longstanding problem that has influenced voters in the central Taiwan city.
While Lu and Tsai both agreed that the operation of the Taichung Power Plant must change, they had different plans to accomplish this transition.
One of the world’s largest coal-fired plants, the Taichung Power Plant currently consists of 10 coal-fired generators and is one of Taiwan’s main polluters and carbon emissions emitters.
Tsai proposed legislation at the Legislature in 2021 that would replace coal-fired units with gas-fired ones, but argued that the former would need to be kept in reserve out of national security considerations.
If Taiwan were blockaded or shipping were restricted, he said, the units could give Taiwan more electricity-generating capacity.
Lu opposed the plan, insisting that the new gas-fired turbines could not be introduced if coal-fired units were not scrapped.
Currently, the central government has agreed to scrap two coal-fired units in 2027 after two new gas-fired units become operational, following negotiations with Lu.
Several other key issues touched on by the two candidates included public order, social welfare, and economic development.
Lu is a six-term KMT legislator who entered local government elections in 2018 for the first time, defeating then-incumbent Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) of the DPP by a landslide margin of 210,000 votes.
Lin was assigned to head the Ministry of Transportation and Communications the next year but resigned in 2021 after one of Taiwan’s deadliest train crashes took place in eastern Taiwan. Lin ran for New Taipei mayor this year, facing incumbent Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) of the KMT.
Lu was first elected to the Legislature in 1999 and broke a record in 2016 when she won the most votes for any KMT candidate in the legislative elections. She has never lost any election.
Lu holds a master’s degree from the Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies at Tamkang University. She worked as a journalist before entering politics.
Tsai, 53, is a four-term legislator and current chairman of the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel