Courtney Donovan Smith of Taiwan Report Shares His Analysis on Taiwan’s 2022 “Nine-in-One” Local Elections Ep 227

With Taiwan’s next presidential election set for early 2024, what are the implications of Taiwan’s 2022 “Nine-in-One” Local Elections that took place back in November? We’ve invited Courtney Donovan Smith co-founder of Taiwan Report, ICRT’s Central Taiwan correspondent, and contributing columnist to Taiwan News to share his insights on the recent elections in Taiwan.

The topic of plagiarism also came up since plagarism scandals have plagued political candidates from all three political parties, the DPP, KMT and TPP. Donovan also shared his analysis on how each of the major political parties in Taiwan fared in the November elections.

While it might be a bit too early to discuss the 2024 presidential candidates, we’ll definitely have Donovan back at a later date to discuss Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Race.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women’s Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women’s dignity,
2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
3. to fully develop women’s potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
5. to reach out and work with women’s organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• Taiwan’s local elections (aka the 9-in-1 elections) that were held in November 2022
• What positions were up for election
• 22 positions were up for election
• The results of the November 2022 elections in Taiwan
• How the DPP, KMT and TPP fared in the elections
• What implications the November elections might have for Taiwan’s presidential elections in 2024
• Why President Tsai Ing-wen stepped down as the DPP party chair
• The DPP and KMT’s strategies during the November 2022 local elections
• The DPP’s missteps during the November 2022 local elections
• The plagiarism scandals that have affected Taiwan’s 3 major political parties: the DPP, KMT & TPP
• The increasing numbers of women being elected as legislators and to other positions in Taiwan
• The referendum to lower voting age in Taiwan from 20 to 18 years old
• How Donovan got into writing and reporting about Taiwan’s politics
• Those who write and comment on Taiwan’s politics: Michael Turton, Nathan Batto
• How Donovan created an RPG (role playing game)
• Who will be the KMT presidential candidate for Taiwan’s presidential election in 2024

Related Links:

Courtney Donovan Smith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/donovan_smith

Taiwan Report: https://report.tw/

Takeaways from Taiwan’s local elections (an article from Taiwan News by Courtney Donovan Smith): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4748322

DPP’s Taoyuan campaign collapses, spreading chaos in the party across Taiwan an article from Taiwan News by Courtney Donovan Smith): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4629723

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party

President Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen

Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang

Taiwan People’s Party (TPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party

Ko Wen-je: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je

Lai Ching-te: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_Ching-te

Eric Chu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Chu

New Tide Faction (of the DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tide_faction

Where Are the DPP’s Party Factions Now? (an article by Courtney Donovan Smith for Ketagalan Media): https://ketagalanmedia.com/2021/06/29/where-are-the-dpps-party-factions-now/

Daniel Han Kuo-yu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Kuo-yu

Is a Defiant Han Kuo-yu’s Hat Still in the Ring? (an article by Courtney Donovan Smith for Ketagalan Media): https://ketagalanmedia.com/2020/06/17/is-a-daefiant-han-kuo-yus-hat-still-in-the-ring/

KMT’s Jane Lee copied 96 percent of thesis: report (an article from the Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2020/07/23/2003740410

Courtney Donovan Smith’s tweet about Jane Lee wearing a T-shirt with the word NOTHING printed on it: https://twitter.com/donovan_smith/status/1287227881102299136

EDITORIAL: Plagiarism scandal claims more (an article from the Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2022/10/20/2003787363

TPP Hsinchu mayoral hopeful rebuts plagiarism accusations (an article from Focus Taiwan): https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202209200016

Black Gold politics: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_gold_(politics)

DPP suspends membership of Tainan City Council speaker, deputy speaker (an article from Focus Taiwan): https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202302070020

Taiwan’s 42.5% female legislature is record, GEC says (an article from the Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/01/24/2003771965

In Taiwan, referendum on lowering voting age to 18 fails to meet turnout threshold (an article from Constitutionnet.org): https://constitutionnet.org/news/taiwan-referendum-lowering-voting-age-18-fails-meet-turnout-threshold

ELECTIONS 2022/Referendum on lowering voting age to 18 fails to pass (an article from Focus Taiwan): https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202211260030

Taiwan elections: Vote yes on voting age referendum, even though it won’t pass an article from Taiwan News by Courtney Donovan Smith): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4725431

Referendums in Taiwan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_in_Taiwan

Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement

Michael Turton’s blog: http://michaelturton.blogspot.com/

Michael Turton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelturton

Nathan Batto’s blog, Frozen Garlic: https://frozengarlic.wordpress.com/

What is RPG: https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/role-playing-game-RPG

Lin Chia-lung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lin_Chia-lung

Hou You-Yi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_New_Taipei

The 1992 Consensus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1992_Consensus

The 1992 Consensus: Why It Worked and Why It Fell Apart (an article from The Diplomat): https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/the-1992-consensus-why-it-worked-and-why-it-fell-apart/

EDITORIAL: Farewell, ‘1992 consensus’? (an article from the Taipei Times): https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2022/06/30/2003780833

Xi Jinping: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Jinping

Terry Gou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou

Mazu/Matsu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazu

God’s odds on a Terry Gou Taiwan presidential run (an article from Taiwan News by Courtney Donovan Smith): https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4789053

Lu Shiow-yen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Taichung

Jaw Shaw-kong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaw_Shaw-kong

Chang Ya-chung: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chang_Ya-chung

Why the Surge in Taiwan’s Coronavirus Cases? An Interview with Courtney Donovan Smith Ep 134

Biking in Taiwan with Blogger Michael Turton Ep 138

Ep 188 Lost Episodes | Michael Turton 5000 Blog Posts

Michelle Kuo and Albert Wu: On a Broad and Ample Road and the Taiwanese Presbyterian Church Shooting Ep 209