Taiwan Church News
3334 Edition
Jan 18 – 24, 2016
Headline News
The Third Party Alternation Brings Taiwan Into A Brand New Political Era
Reported by Chen Yi-fan and Chen Yi-hsuan
On January 16, Taiwan’s election result of the 14th President and Vice President and the 9th round MPs of Legislative Yuan is officially delivered. In a landslide victory of taking 56% majority, Ms Tsai Ing-wen and Mr Chen Jien-ren, DPP’s presidential candidates with 6,894,744 votes, unseats Eric Chu and Jeniffer Wang, KMT’s presidential candidates with 3,813,365 votes, or 31%. As to Mr. James Soong and Ms Hsu Hsin-ying, the third group of presidential candidates from People First Part(PFP) and Republican Party(RP), receives about 1.57 million votes, or 12.8%.
In the election of MP, DPP secures a majority of 68 seats, while KMT only maintain 35 seats. With an astonishing outbreak of youth power, New Power Party(NPP), a very young party which is not even one-year-old, takes 5 seats of MP and gets across the 5% party hurdle to become the third major party in Legislative Yuan. Especially, three novice NPP’s district candidates, Huang Kuo-chang, Hung Tzu-yung and Freddy Lim, defeat KMT’s old guards in congress. More remarkable is that this is the first party alternation in the 60 years’ history of Taiwan congress. DPP is to control Legislative Yuan for sure!
As to the elected MP from other parties, PFP gets three seats, Non-Partisan Solidarity Union(NPSU) 1 seat and independent candidate 1 seat. Though highly potential before the ballot is cast, those hopeful MP candidates, from Taiwan Solidarity Union(TSD) or Green Party – Social Democratic Party Alliance, does not secure any seat in this campaign. However, one interesting fact deserves to watch further: the Faith and Hope League(FHL), a Christian party organized by a former New Party MP, Mrs Joanna Lei, receives 206,629 votes, or 1.69%, of party votes, which is even higher than the received party votes of Republican Party headed by her highly exposed Vice Presidential candidate, Ms. Hsu Hsin-ying.
Among these newly elected MP, many are PCT members like Mr Chao Tien-lin, Ms Hsiao Bi-khim, Mr Wang Ding-yu and Ms Kawlo Iyun Pacidal. Insisting no propaganda vehicle, no promotion flag and no negative campaign, Chao Tien-lin says his election is much more like an evangelical assembly than the typical campaign. “I am proud of being an Christian,” says Chao, “And the result of this election is people’s victory! Glory to God!’.
With a triumphant lead of her rival KMT candidates with about 10 thousand votes after six consecutive years of committed service in eastern Taiwan Hua-lien County, Ms Hsiao Bi-Khim, daughter of Rev. Hsiao Chin-fen who is the former principal of Tainan Theological College and Seminary, says in her Facebook:”We have proved that no place could not be changed, if we work very hard!”
Gaining 150 thousand votes, the highest ballots of MP-elect across Taiwan, Mr Wang Ding-yu expresses that he is full of respect and fear toward such victory because this means an enormous trust from the people. He swears to work hard to serve and respond such earnest demands from the people.
Ms Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, the aboriginal legislator-at-large recommended by NPP, gives her special thanks to Taiwan’s young voters in this 2016 election. Because this election victory is not only an opportunity for Taiwan’s new politics, but also a window to let the outdated election rules for the aboriginal peoples be examined and solved, says Kawlo Iyun.
Translated by Peter Wolfe
