ROC local elections, 2005 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Election of County Magistrates, County Councilmen, and Township Governors , commonly known as the "Three-in-One Election" (三合一選舉; sānhéyīxuǎnjǔ), was held in the Republic of China (Taiwan)

Republic of China

The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

on December 3, 2005 for mayors of province-administered cities, magistrates of counties, members of county and city councils, and heads of townships, towns and county-administered cities. The elections were held only in the ROC administered provinces of Fuchien and Taiwan

Taiwan Province

Taiwan Province is one of the two administrative divisions referred to as provinces and is controlled by the Republic of China . The province covers approximately 73% of the territory controlled by the Republic of China...

and not in the centrally

Executive Yuan

The Executive Yuan is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China , commonly known as "Taiwan".-Organization and structure:...

-administered cities of Taipei

Taipei

Taipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...

and Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung

Kaohsiung is a city located in southwestern Taiwan, facing the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities of the Republic of China...

.

The largest opposition party at the national level—the Kuomintang

Kuomintang

The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...

(KMT)—replaced the governing Democratic Progressive Party

Democratic Progressive Party

The Democratic Progressive Party is a political party in Taiwan, and the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition. Founded in 1986, DPP is the first meaningful opposition party in Taiwan. It has traditionally been associated with strong advocacy of human rights and a distinct Taiwanese identity,...

(DPP) as the largest party at the local level. The Kuomintang, together with other smaller parties in opposition, won control of 16 of the 23 counties and province-administered cities, most of the city and county councils, as well as most of the townships, towns and county-administered cities.

The party chairman of DPP Su Tseng-chang

Su Tseng-chang

Su Tseng-chang is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party. He is the former Premier of the Republic of China. Su actively campaigned for the Presidential nomination of the DPP, but finished second to Frank Hsieh in the nomination process...

resigned following his promise on the eve of the elections. The Premier

Premier of the Republic of China

The President of the Executive Yuan , commonly known as the Premier of the Republic of China , is the head of the Executive Yuan, the executive branch of the Republic of China , which currently administers Taiwan, Matsu, and Kinmen. The premier is appointed by the President of the Republic of China...

Frank Hsieh

Frank Hsieh Chang-ting is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party in the Republic of China. He was the mayor of Kaohsiung City until his appointment as President of the Executive Yuan by president Chen Shui-bian on February 1, 2005. He announced his resignation from the post of...

has also submitted his resignation to President

President of the Republic of China

The President of the Republic of China is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Republic of China . The Republic of China was founded on January 1, 1912, to govern all of China...

Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian is a former Taiwanese politician who was the 10th and 11th-term President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008. Chen, whose Democratic Progressive Party has traditionally been supportive of Taiwan independence, ended more than fifty years of Kuomintang rule in Taiwan...

, but Chen has stated that he does not plan to accept Hsieh's resignation. Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou is the 12th term and current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party. He formerly served as Justice Minister from 1993 to 1996, Mayor of Taipei from 1998 to 2006, and Chairman...

has similarly pleged to resign if the KMT failed to win at least 11 of the magistrate and mayor positions and the results were considered a sign of confidence of Ma's leadership reinforced his position in the bid for the presidency in the 2008 presidential election

ROC presidential election, 2008

The election for the 12th-term President and Vice-President of the Republic of China was held in the Republic of China on Saturday, March 22, 2008. Kuomintang nominee Ma Ying-jeou won with 58% of the vote, ending eight years of Democratic Progressive Party rule...

Background

The election was seen as a litmus test for the governing Democratic Progressive Party

Democratic Progressive Party

and the incumbent President Chen Shui-bian

Chen Shui-bian

in the wake of damaging scandals affecting their image. It was also a test for the popularity of the leading opposition party Kuomintang

Kuomintang

, which Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou

Ma Ying-jeou

assumed the chairmanship

KMT chairmanship election, 2005

The Chinese Kuomintang chairmanship election of 2005 was held on July 16, 2005 in the Republic of China between Ma Ying-jeou and Wang Jin-pyng. The election was triggered by the retirement of chairman Lien Chan....

of in August 2005.

In the months preceding the election the DPP was plagued by a rising unemployment rate and a series of scandals involving the Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit

Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit

The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit System is a rapid transit system covering metropolitan Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Construction of the KMRT started in October 2001. The Red Line and the Orange Line opened on March 9 and September 14, 2008, respectively...

system, stock speculations by two deputy presidential secretaries-general, and "stock market vultures" profiting from insider information. DPP candidates in Taipei County and Ilan County were implicated in vote buying scandals. Publicized scandals concerning several KMT candidates failed to cause similar damage, in part because the DPP had built a reputation on its desire for reform, had the most to lose by the taint of corruption.

A DPP plan to discontinue the current 18% pension interest rate for civil servants also backfired on the party. The pension reform plan had been put forward by the Chen administration as a way to stop a drain on the national treasury caused by paying a favored interest rate to long-term KMT officials who had worked relatively short stints in actual public government. Prominent beneficiaries of the high interest rate included former KMT chairman Lien Chan

Lien Chan

Lien Chan is a politician in Taiwan. He was Premier of the Republic of China from 1993 to 1997, Vice President of the Republic of China from 1996 to 2000, and was the Chairman of the Kuomintang from 2000 to 2005...

and current Taichung mayor Jason Hu

Jason Hu

Jason Hu Chih-chiang is a former official in the national government of Republic of China. He is currently serving his second term as mayor of the central Taiwan city of Taichung. His current term ends in early 2010 and he is currently running for re-election as mayor of the new Taichung...

. The announcement of the reform plan cost the DPP a huge loss of support among civil service employees without the party winning offsetting increases in support from other segments of society.

Results

76 candidates competed for the positions as mayors or magistrates of the 23 province-administered cities and counties

County (Republic of China)

Counties , are one of administrative divisions within the Republic of China . They are officially found at the second level. However, the streamlining of Taiwan Province and Fukien Province has effectively promoted the county the first level below the Republic of China central government's rule...

, 1,690 competed for membership in the city or county councils, and 1786 for the 319 leadership for townships, towns and county-administered cities

County-controlled city

A county-controlled city is a third level administrative division of the Republic of China .On the same level as a ROC township, it is the lowest-level city of ROC, below provincial city and special municipality. There are 17 County-controlled cities under Taiwan Province...

.

Of the 23 county and city government positions, the Kuomintang

Kuomintang

won 14 posts, and its Pan-Blue Coalition

Pan-Blue Coalition

The Pan-Blue Coalition 泛藍聯盟 or Pan-Blue Force is a political alliance in the Republic of China , consisting of the Kuomintang , the People First Party , and the New Party . The name comes from the party colours of the Kuomintang...

allies the People First Party and the Chinese New Party each won one post. In contrast, the Democratic Progressive Party

Democratic Progressive Party

won only six posts. One post was won by an independent. Overall, the KMT garnered 50.96% of the vote, up from 35.06% in 2001. The DPP won 41.95% of the vote, down from 45.27% in 2001. The PFP and the Taiwan Solidarity Union each won about 1.1% of the votes, but the TSU did not win any posts. The New Party won 0.2% of votes. Independents won 4.65%.

In the 319 township governments at stake, the KMT won 173 posts and the PFP won three, while the DPP won 35 and independents took the remaining 108.

Heavily contested races included the Taipei County

Taipei County

New Taipei City is the most populous city of Taiwan. The area includes a substantial stretch of Taiwan's northern coastline and surrounds the Taipei Basin...

and Ilan County magistrate elections. In Taipei, DPP candidate Luo Wen-jia

Luo Wen-jia

Luo Wen-jia |Hakka]]: Lò Vùn-kâ; born January 1, 1966), a Taiwanese politician, was born in Sinwu, Taoyuan. Luo is a member of the Democratic Progressive Party , he once served as an assistant to Chen Shui-bian, a national legislator at that time. After Chen elected as the mayor of Taipei, Luo...

lost by a surprisingly large margin of 190,000 votes over KMT candidate Legislator Chou Hsi-wei

Chou Hsi-wei

Chou Hsi-wei is a former Taipei County magistrate in Taiwan. He was formerly a member of the People's First Party, but switched allegiance to the Kuomintang shortly before the county chief elections. He previously served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China.-Notes:...

, who had previously been with the PFP but left the PFP in favor of the KMT in order to receive the KMT nomination. In Ilan, KMT candidate Lu Kuo-hua won by only 8,000 votes over DPP candidate Chen Ding-nan

Chen Ding-nan

Chen Ding-Nan was a Taiwanese politician.-Entry into politics:As a Yilan County native, Chen received a bachelor's degree in Law from the National Taiwan University in 1966. After graduation Chen ran various business in Yilan...

, gaining control of the traditionally pro-DPP stronghold for the first time in 24 years. Both Luo and Chen had been plagued by allegations of vote buying. In Chiayi City, which had long been controlled by the independent Hsu clan, the KMT candidate won in a tight race against a DPP-backed former secretary of clan matriarch Hsu Shih-hsien

Hsu Shih-Hsien

Hsu Shih-hsien was a Taiwanese academic and politician. She was the first female PhD in Taiwan, and the first female mayor of a Taiwanese city – she was twice elected mayor of Chiayi City in central Taiwan. Hsu's daughter is former Minister of the Interior Chang Po-ya.-References:...

, after current clan leader Chang Po-ya

Chang Po-ya

Chang Po-ya is the Chairwoman and founder of the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, a political party in Taiwan.Born in Chiayi City to Hsü Shih-hsien , a politician-doctor, Chang is a medical doctor educated in Kaohsiung Medical College , the Institute of Public Health, National Taiwan University ,...

withdrew her endorsement for the DPP over perceived insults by a DPP legislator against the Hsu clan.

The KMT also took Keelung City, Taoyuan County, Hualien County

Hualien County

Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan and is located on the mountainous eastern coast of Taiwan. It contains the island's largest port. It is the starting point of the Hualien-Taitung Line and the terminal point of North-Link Line of TRA...

, Penghu County, Nantou County

Nantou County

Nantou County is the second largest county of Taiwan. It is also the only landlocked county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya Taiwanese aboriginal word Ramtau. Nantou County is officially administered as a county of Taiwan....

, Changhua County

Changhua County

Changhua County is the smallest county in Taiwan located on the westside of Taiwan. It is officially governed as a county of the Republic of China .-Urban townships:# Beidou Township # Erlin Township...

, Taichung County

Taichung County

Taichung County was a county in central Taiwan, the Republic of China, that surrounded but did not include Taichung City. The name Taichung means "central Taiwan"...

, Taichung City, Miaoli County

Miaoli County

Miaoli County is a county in western Taiwan. The name Miaoli was coined using two Hakka words, cat and raccoon dog , which phonetically approximate Pali , a community of Taokas people...

, Hsinchu County

Hsinchu County

Hsinchu County is a county in north-western Taiwan. The population of the county is mainly Hakka; there is a Taiwanese aboriginal minority in the southeastern part of the county. Zhubei is the capital of Hsinchu, where the government office and county office is located...

, and Hsinchu City.

The DPP won six constituencies, all in its traditional southern stronghold: Tainan County

Tainan County

Tainan County was located in southern Taiwan. The name "Tainan" means "Southern Taiwan". Formerly a county of the Republic of China , Tainan County was merged with Tainan City at the end of 2010 to form a single special municipality....

, Tainan City, Kaohsiung County

Kaohsiung County

Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan that enclosed but did not include Kaohsiung City. On December 25, 2010, the county merged with Kaohsiung City to form a single special municipality.- Administration :-External links:*...

, Pingtung County

Pingtung County

Pingtung County is a county in Southern Taiwan. Pingtung County is officially administered as a county of the Republic of China . The oldest national park in Taiwan, Kenting National Park, was established in Pingtung County in 1984...

, Yunlin County

Yunlin County

Yunlin County is a county in the western part of Taiwan, the Republic of China. Yunlin is located to the right of the Taiwan Strait, the east of Nantou County and sharing a border with Changhua County divided by the Zhuoshui River. Yunlin is one of the counties of Taiwan that is part of the Chianan...

, and Chiayi County

Chiayi County

Chiayi County is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. Its historical name in Taiwanese Hokkien derives from Tsirosen in the Formosan languages...

. However, the Tainan County and Pingtung County victories were far closer than originally expected.

The PFP and the New Party retained control in Lienchang County and Kinmen County respectively, both outlying islands to the coast of mainland Fujian

Fujian

' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...

that have been strongly pro-unification and anti-independence.

In Taitung County, independent Wu Chun-li, a former KMT member, won against two other independents. However, he may be disqualified due to a corruption conviction that led him to be purged from the KMT.

Voter turnout was around 66%.

Aftermath

Su Tseng-chang resigned as DPP chairman soon after election results were announced. Su had pledged to step down if the DPP lost either Taipei County or failed to win 10 of the 23 mayor/magistrate positions. Vice President Annette Lu

Annette Lu

Annette Lu Hsiu-lien , was the Vice President of the Republic of China from 2000 to 2008, under Chen Shui-bian. She announced her intentions to run for President of Taiwan on March 6, 2007, but withdrew in order to support DPP presidential nominee, Frank Hsieh...

was appointed acting DPP leader. Presidential Office Secretary-General Yu Shyi-kun

Yu Shyi-kun

Yu Shyi-kun , a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party, is a former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan. He previously served as Premier of the Republic of China from 2002 to 2005...

was elected in a three-way race against legislator Chai Trong-rong

Chai Trong-rong

Chai Trong-rong , sometimes known in English as Trong Chai, is a Taiwanese politician. He is currently a member of the Legislative Yuan, the national legislative body of the Republic of China ....

and Wong Chin-chu

Wong Chin-chu

Wong Chin-chu , a Taiwanese politician, is a member of the Legislative Yuan. She served as the magistrate of Changhua County from 2001 to 2005. With former chairperson Lin Yi-hsiung's support, Wong ran for the chairperson of the Democratic Progressive Party in the 2006 election...

with 54.4% of the vote.

Premier Frank Hsieh

Frank Hsieh

, DPP election organizer and former mayor of Kaohsiung (the city at the center of the MRT scandal) twice tendered a verbal resignation immediately following the election, but his resignation was not accepted by President Chen until January 17, 2006 after the DPP chairmanship election had concluded. The former DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang was appointed to replace Hsieh as premier. Hsieh and his cabinet resigned en masse on January 24 to make way for Su and his new cabinet. President Chen had offered the position of Presidential Office Secretary-General (vacated by Yu) to the departing premier, but Hsieh refused and left office criticizing President Chen for his tough line stance on dealing with the PRC.

Newly elected KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou saw his political fortunes bolstered by his party's election success. He had already successfully distanced himself from his predecessor, Lien Chan

Lien Chan

. Ma had declined to accompany Lien on his visit to mainland China earlier in the year and, as chairman, has appointed fresh faces to a number of party posts. He has now linked his name with the cause of clean government, a prominent KMT 2005 campaign pledge. The election is thus widely read as an expression of voter confidence in Ma's ability to achieve reform within his own party as well as in government. Ma has emerged as an early favorite in the 2008 presidential race.

The PFP's failure to win outside Matsu County has put additional pressure on PFP chairman James Soong

James Soong

James Soong Chu-yu , is a politician in the Republic of China on Taiwan. He founded and chairs the People First Party, a smaller and more conservative party in the Kuomintang -led Pan-Blue Coalition....

to discuss merging the PFP with the KMT. The PFP lost its control of Taitung County to an independent. It also faced a defection in Taipei County where Chou Hsi-wei left the PFP to gain the KMT nomination.

In light of a controversial campaign tactic by DPP legislator Lin Chin-hsin (林進興), a physician, to publicize purported health records of KMT candidate Jason Hu

Jason Hu

(who successfully won reelection as Taichung mayor), Lin and the other 11 physicians who participated in Lin's press conference have been disciplined by the Taichung City Department of Health. Lin's license was suspended for one year, while one of the physicians who organized the press conference as well, Kao Chia-chun (高嘉君) was suspended for one month. The other physicians received reprimands and mandatory ethics reeducation requirements. Lin, claiming both that the punishment was too severe and that since he practices in Kaohsiung, the Taichung authorities have no jurisdiction, has said that he will appeal the punishment.

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