Local elections were held in Taiwan on 27 November 2010 to elect mayors, councillors, and village chiefs of special-municipalities ( Kaohsiung,

New Taipei New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

Taichung Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Ta ...

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hi ...

and

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

), known as the ''Five Municipalities Elections'' (). Mayoral candidates for the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

were elected in New Taipei, Taipei, and Taichung, while candidates for the Democratic Progressive Party were elected in Kaohsiung and Tainan. On the eve of the election, Sean Lien, son of former

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is o ...

Chan Lien, was shot in face when he was campaigning for a Kuomintang New Taipei councillor candidate. Earlier in the year on 12 June 2010, elections were held to elect representatives in township/city councils and

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

chiefs.

Results summary

Taipei

Electoral background

As the capital of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

functions as the economic and political centre of

, and is currently the largest city of

.土地面積、村里鄰、戶數暨現住人口數統計表
，中華民國內政部統計資訊網 Due to the great allocation of resources to Taipei, the Municipal Mayoral position of Taipei is of extreme strategic importance within the political arena, and has always been a fiercely contested position. Because two directly elected Municipal Mayors of Taipei,

Chen Shui-bian Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whi ...

and

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from 1 ...

, were elected the Presidents in 2000 and 2008 respectively, the position has been widely speculated to be a "first-step" towards the Presidential Office.台北市長的好處
��中時電子報 Having been under the administration of the

for the past twelve years, Taipei is commonly considered to be solidly in the Pan-Blue political camp. Recent estimates show that approximately 60% of voters who identify themselves with political inclination support the

Pan-Blue Coalition The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Yo ...

, whilst 40% support the

Pan-Green Coalition The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union ...

. A significant proportion of eligible voters in Taiwan identify themselves as having no political inclination. The incumbent Taipei Municipal Mayor

Hau Lung-pin Hau Lung-pin (; born 22 August 1952) is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the New Party (Taiwan), New Party, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995, and resigned his seat to lead the Environmental Protection Administration in 2001. ...

of the Kuomintang stood for his second term in this election.

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

New Taipei

Electoral background

(formerly

Taipei County New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

) was promoted into a central municipality, and replaced

Taipei City Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the nor ...

as the largest city of

was under the administration of the

, with the incumbent Taipei County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei serving as mayor. However, unlike

, which is solidly in the Pan-Blue political camp, the electoral composition of

is more evenly distributed between Pan-Blue and

supporters, with only a very slight overall inclination towards the Pan-Blue political camp.《台灣與大陸政治評論集》，林清察，2006年 It should also be noted that

had previously been under the administration of the Democratic Progressive Party for 16 years, until the incumbent County Magistrate Chou Hsi-wei won power 5 years ago.《重修臺灣省通志》＜卷八．職官志第一冊-文職表篇＞，劉寧顏，臺灣省文獻委員會，1993年歷屆縣市長選舉結果
，聯合新聞網

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Taichung

Electoral background

The newly created central municipality

will be formed from the merging and elevation of

Taichung County Taichung County was a county in central Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Yuanlin Township before 1950 and Fongyuan City after 1950. History Taichung County was established on 26 November 1945 on the territory of Taichū ...

and

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...

, both of which are currently county-level divisions of

. At present, both

and

are under the administration of the

, with the incumbent Taichung County Magistrate being Huang Chung-sheng and the incumbent Taichung City Mayor being Jason Hu Chih-chiang. The electoral composition of

is relatively balanced with only a slight overall inclination towards the Pan-Blue political camp, whereas

is commonly considered to be mildly leaning towards the Pan-Blue political camp. It is estimated that in

, approximately 52% of voters who identify themselves with political inclination support the

, whilst 48% support the

. In

, the proportion of Pan-Blue to

Pan-Green The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union ( ...

supporters within voters who identify themselves with political inclination is approximately 55% to 45%.

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Tainan

Electoral background

The newly created central municipality

will be formed from the merging and elevation of

Tainan County Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City. History Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II. ...

and

Tainan City Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" for its over 200 years of hi ...

, both of which are currently county-level divisions of

. The incumbent Tainan County Magistrate Su Huan-chih and the incumbent Tainan City Mayor being

Hsu Tain-tsair Hsu Tain-tsair (; born 23 January 1953) is a Taiwanese politician who served as the mayor of Tainan City from 2001 to 2010. Born in Tainan County (now part of Tainan City), Hsu got his PhD candidacy in economics in the United States, where h ...

are both members of the Democratic Progressive Party. Having been under the administration of the Democratic Progressive Party for the past seventeen and thirteen years respectively, both

and

are commonly considered to be strongholds of the

political camp. It is estimated that in both the county and the city, approximately 60% of voters who identify themselves with political inclination support the

, whilst 40% support the

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Kaohsiung

Electoral background

The newly created central municipality Kaohsiung will be formed from the merging of

Kaohsiung County Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was located in Fongshan City. History Kaohsiung County was established on 6 December 1945 on the territory of Takao Prefecture () shortly after the end of ...

and the current central municipality

Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohs ...

. The incumbent Kaohsiung Municipal Mayor

Chen Chu Chen Chu or Kiku Chen (; born 10 June 1950) is the current President of the Control Yuan and Chair of the National Human Rights Commission. Before assuming her current post, Chen had served as Secretary-General to the President from 2018 to ...

and the incumbent Kaohsiung County Magistrate

Yang Chiu-hsing Yang Chiu-hsing (; born 15 May 1956) is a Taiwanese politician. He was a Minister without Portfolio in the Executive Yuan and Magistrate of Kaohsiung County. Kaohsiung County Magistracy Yang was elected as the Magistrate of Kaohsiung County aft ...

are both members of the Democratic Progressive Party. Having been under the administration of the Democratic Progressive Party for the past twelve years, the electoral composition of

has a slight overall inclination towards the

political camp.中選會資料庫網站
，中央選舉委員會 On the other hand,

has been under the control of Tangwai members and the Democratic Progressive Party for 25 years, is widely considered to be solidly in the

political camp. It is estimated that in

, approximately 60% of voters who identify themselves with political inclination support the

, whilst 40% support the

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Implications and reactions

A forum entitled "Policy Direction after Five Metropolitan Elections in Taiwan", organized by the Institute for National Policy Research on Monday, November 29, 2010, concluded that although the

won three of the five mayoral positions, in terms of the overall votes won, the real victor was in fact the Democratic Progressive Party. Raymond Burghardt, chairman of the

American Institute in Taiwan The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT; ) is the ''de facto'' Embassy of the United States of America in Taiwan. The AIT institution is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the federal government of the United States in Taiwan with Congressional overs ...

, said that the way both parties handled the shooting which wounded Sean Lien, son of former vice-president Lien Chan, "was also a sign of political maturity." Taiwanese political scientist Hsu Yung-ming believed that the elections signalled the era of the new "Four Heavenly Kings"

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served a ...

William Lai William Lai Ching-te (; born 6 October 1959) is a Taiwanese politician who has been the Vice President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2020. He served as a legislator in the Legislative Yuan from 1999 to 2010, and as Mayor of Tainan from ...

and

Su Jia-chyuan Su Jia-chyuan (or Su Chia-chyuan; ; born 22 October 1956) is a Taiwanese politician of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). As the first non-Kuomintang President of the Legislative Yuan, Su is an at-large legislator and previously Commiss ...

within the Democratic Progressive Party.Chinareviewnews.com
" ''民進黨出現新四大天王　兩岸政策或放寬.'' Retrieved on 2010-12-11.

Notes

References

{{Taiwan elections 2010 Taiwanese local elections 2010 Taiwanese local elections

Results summary

Taipei

Electoral background

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

New Taipei

Electoral background

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Taichung

Electoral background

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Tainan

Electoral background

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Kaohsiung

Electoral background

Polling

Predictions

Results

Municipal Mayoral Election

Municipal Councilmen Election

Ward Chiefs Election

Implications and reactions

See also

Notes

References