DPP’s challenges in Hualien CountyBy Hsieh Chia-hao 謝家豪When Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) lost her legislative seat in Hualien County in 2020, it came as a blow to pro-Taiwan supporters, comparable to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) losses to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates in the 1998 Taipei and 2018 Kaohsiung mayoral elections. In 2020, DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) secured 66,509 votes in Hualien County, compared with Hsiao’s 56,485 in the parallel legislative elections. This difference of 10,024 votes is largely attributed to nontraditional DPP voters in the area, of which indigenous voters should make up a significant portion. The challenge in Hualien County is not just the fight for a single election, but how to tackle structural barriers; this is what should be focused on in the coming months. Hsieh Chia-hao is a teacher at an elementary school in Hualien County.

Source: Taipei Times April 02, 2026 17:47 UTC