KMT Taipei Zhongzheng-Wanhua District Councilor Primary Won by Chang Yen-ting

Taipei, 16th (CNA, Reporter Liu Chien-pang) - The Kuomintang's (KMT) Taipei City chapter announced the results of the city councilor primary for the Zhongzheng-Wanhua district today. The primary was decided by a formula of 70% public opinion polls and 30% party member votes, with Chang Yen-ting ultimately emerging as the winner. Chairman Tai Hsi-chin stated that the nominations for Taipei City councilor seats are now settled, and the party is considering nominating a candidate for the indigenous mountaineer constituency. The KMT's Taipei City chapter nominated four seats in the Zhongzheng-Wanhua district. With three incumbent councilors already registered and one vacancy left by incumbent Ying Hsiao-wei (who is involved in the Core Pacific City case) not registering, candidates Kuo Yin-lan, Chang Yen-ting, and Chou Shih-hsiung competed for the spot. The primary's formula of 70% public opinion polls and 30% party member votes had caused disagreement among the three new candidates. This afternoon, the KMT's Taipei City chapter announced the primary results, with chapter chairman and Taipei City Council Speaker Tai Hsi-chin, polling experts, Kuo Yin-lan, and Chang Yen-ting in attendance. According to the press release from the city chapter, Chang Yen-ting won the primary for the 5th electoral district (Zhongzheng, Wanhua). The polls, conducted by two firms with random adult sampling, showed Chang with an average support rate of 59%, the highest among the three. In the party member vote, with a turnout of 19.17% (1,023 out of 5,336 eligible voters), Chang received 567 votes, Kuo 281, and Chou 172. In a post-announcement interview, Tai Hsi-chin said that with the completion of the 5th district primary, all 31 regional councilor nominations for Taipei City are finalized and will be submitted to the KMT Central Committee. He added that the candidate for the lowland indigenous constituency has also completed registration. The selection for the mountain indigenous constituency might be slightly delayed, and the party will discuss with the Central Committee whether to use nomination or another method to produce a candidate. Incumbent KMT Taipei City councilor for the mountain indigenous constituency, Li Fu-chung-wu, is suspected of using relatives of his wife as 'dummy' assistants to fraudulently claim over NT$10 million in subsidies. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office recently questioned Li Fu-chung-wu and six others. After an overnight interrogation, Li was released on NT$5 million bail and is restricted from leaving the country. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150516