The 2013 Taichung legislative by-election was held in

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 nort ...

on 23 January 2013 for the Taichung City Constituency II after the former legislator

Yen Ching-piao Yen Ching-piao (; born 25 August 1960) is a Taiwanese politician. Personal life and early career As a child, Yen Ching-piao earned the nickname "winter melon-piao" from his grandfather for his short stature and stocky build. Yen married at age 1 ...

was disqualified for corruption.

Background

The Yen family was powerful in

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 Taiw ...

's local politics.

was the speaker of Taichung County Council in 1990s, and was first elected to the

Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...

, the parliament of Taiwan, in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

. Yen, who joined the pan-blue Non-Partisan Solidarity Union in 2004, was re-elected three times in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. Yen has been hit by scandal since he entered politics, and was once jailed in 2001. On 28 November 2012, followed by rulings from lower courts and appeals, Yen was sentenced to jail for 3.5 years by the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

over grafting, abetting stand-in, and violating ammunition law, and was handed disfranchisement for 3 years. He therefore was disqualified and ceased to be a legislator.

Candidates

A total of three candidates ran in the by-election to succeed Yen, the candidate number was announced on 8 January 2013. *

Yen Kuan-heng Yen Kuan-heng (; born 14 September 1977) is a Taiwanese politician. He was elected to the Legislative Yuan from Taichung in 2013, to replace his father Yen Ching-piao in office. Yen lost reelection to Chen Po-wei in 2020. Political career Yen ...

: Eldest son of Yen Ching-piao, former member of the National Assembly supported by Non-Partisan Solidarity Union, nominated by Kuomintang on 19 December 2012. * Yu Sih-jia: Nominated by All People's Party on 21 December 2012, but the party revoked the support on 8 January 2013. * : Councillor of Taichung City Council, nominated by Democratic Progress Party on 17 December 2012 following a win in the party's opinion poll.

Result

Yen narrowly won the election and succeeded his father with a lead of less than 1%.

Controversies

The by-election was held less than two months after Yen was disqualified, earlier than the average of three months. DPP officials accused the authorities of trying to discourage other candidates to run, while the Central Election Commission officials said they considered holding the election before Lunar New Year holiday such that new legislator can be sworn in at the beginning of the new session. The Yen family was also suspected of bribery during the campaign.

References

{{portal bar, Republic of China, Taiwan, Politics January 2013 events in Asia 2013 in Taiwan 2013 elections in Taiwan

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...