The KMT's incumbent Ma Ying-jeou wins the Taipei mayoral race in a landslide, handing a defeat to the ruling DPP, while the DPP's Frank Hsieh, also an incumbent, squeaked by in the mayoral election for Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city. That's a shame, because Kaohsiung is such a shit-hole. So he's building a subway. Hardly anyone rides the buses there, so I don't see what difference that makes. He should address quality of life problems: the unenforced traffic laws and the undrinkable water.

The VOA views the outcome as a victory for the president Chen Shuibian.

But Bruce Jacobs said earlier that even a close election in Kaohsiung would indicate severe erosion in President Chen Shui-bian's critical southern support base. Note that Hsieh won the 3-way race with 49.5% of the vote.


Anyway, I believe that one of the reasons that the mainland wants to block Taiwan internet sites is because of news like this. Imagine, a free election.