After the defeat of the KMT’s candidate, Jane Lee, also known as Lee Mei-jhen, in the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election last Saturday, the KMT has seen some internal contestation from party members that have called on the party leadership to take the results of the by-election to heart...
It took few by surprise that Chen Chi-mai of the DPP was the winner of the Kaohsiung mayoral by-election today. Chen won by large margins, winning 70% of the vote, and defeating KMT candidate Jane Lee and TPP candidate Wu Yi-jheng. The by-election was the first by-election to replace a mayor who had been recalled from office in Taiwanese history...
American Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar ended a four-day visit to Taiwan today, visiting the Taipei Guest House to pay his respects to recently deceased former president Lee Teng-hui before returning to America on a flight scheduled for the afternoon...
Comments by Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je at the TPP's first national congress last week are telling about the current political orientation of the party, as well as the challenges it faces going forward. Ko raised eyebrows by calling for a ‘Silent Revolution” in Taiwanese politics at the party congress, a pointed criticism of the Tsai administration indicative of the party’s pan-Blue leanings. At the same time, Ko did not lean as heavily into pan-Blue rhetoric as much as he did during the TPP’s founding one year ago...
The issue of the KMT’s illicit party assets continues to be an issue linked with broader efforts aimed at achieving transitional justice in Taiwan, as observed in a number of recent incidents...
More troubles are ahead for the NPP, with the departure of the party’s two Taipei city councilors in the wake of corruption allegations against former party chair and legislator Hsu Yung-ming that emerged earlier this month...
Controversy broke out earlier this month regarding public broadcaster PTS and plans for PTS to launch an international English-language media platform. Plans for the platform were abruptly canceled after resistance from PTS board members, leading to the resignation of three out of fifteen board members. Among those that resigned included PTS’ president, vice president, and the manager of its news department...
An ongoing corruption probe into a group of pan-Green and pan-Blue politicians accused of taking bribes in a case related to the ownership of the Pacific SOGO department store chain has the potential to be a major corruption scandal faced by the DPP under the Tsai administration...
As with the death of any major political figure, one of the consequences of Lee Teng-hui’s death has been that political figures of all persuasions have rushed to praise Lee. This has been ironic, in many ways...
Rumors that former president Lee Teng-hui had died swept across social media late yesterday night, with many online influencers posting tributes to and eulogies for Lee. Although Lee's health is poor and he is currently hospitalized, such rumors were unfounded. However, as rumors regarding Lee's death were primarily amplified by social media influencers, this gestures toward how online influencers prove a weak link where issues regarding disinformation and misinformation in Taiwan are concerned...
