Former Penghu County magistrate Chen Kuang-fu (陳光復) declared victory Saturday in the Penghu County magistrate race, putting the county back into the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) fold after four years under the opposition Kuomintang (KMT).
The 67-year-old Chen, who had previously served one term as the county’s chief from 2014-2018, unseated incumbent and three-time magistrate Lai Feng-wei (賴峰偉) of the KMT and defeated Magong City mayor Yeh Chu-lin (葉竹林), who ran as an independent, in a tightly contested race.
Chen thanked the people of Penghu for not giving up on him and handing him another opportunity to serve.
The newly elected magistrate said he was proud to be from Penghu, adding that he was someone who would always strive to make the county better.
Chen said he cherished each and every vote, particularly as many people had traveled long distances back to Penghu to cast their ballots.
Chen finished with 18,777 votes, or 36.64 percent of the total, with Lai receiving 17,081 votes, or 33.33 percent, and Yeh 15,384 votes, or 30.02 percent, according to the Central Election Commission (CEC).
Chen declared victory at around 7:20 p.m.
Observers had their eyes on Chen and Lai, 69, who had also previously served two terms as country magistrate from 1997 to 2005. However, it is believed that many of the KMT voters’ ballots were split between Lai and Yeh, as the Magong Mayor left the KMT to run for the election.
According to local media the Penghu Times, Chen’s policies include boosting the local tourism sector by establishing a marine eco-tourism park and accelerating the launch of a underwater museum.
Chen also plans to strengthen military-themed tourism by opening up historical buildings under the Penghu Defense Command, the Penghu Times reported.
The island county off southwestern Taiwan has mostly been a KMT stronghold as it has only had two DPP chiefs – Chen, and Kao Chih-peng (高植澎), who was magistrate from 1993 to 1995.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel