# 1981 Taiwanese local elections

Local elections were held in Taiwan on 14 November 1981, electing 19 magistrates and mayors in the country, 77 members of the Taiwan Provincial Council, and members of the Taipei and Kaohsiung City Council.
The local poll is the first since the crackdown on the Tangwai movement. The result was largely the same with the last, with the ruling party maintaining control over 19 administrative divisions, and the opposition kept Yilan, Changhua, Pingtung, and Tainan City.

## Provincial election

| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats |
| | Kuomintang | | | 59 |
| | Independents | | | 18 |
| Total | Total | | | 77 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 5,703,957 | 97.33 | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 156,471 | 2.67 | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 5,860,428 | 100.00 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 8,146,652 | 71.94 | |
| | KMT | Ind | Turnout (%) |
| Taipei County | 8 | 2 | 64.96 |
| Yilan County | 1 | 1 | 70.88 |
| Taoyuan County | 3 | 3 | 75.01 |
| Hsinchu County | 3 | | 74.06 |
| Miaoli County | 2 | 1 | 74.67 |
| Taichung County | 4 | 2 | 78.23 |
| Changhua County | 6 | | 79.43 |
| Nantou County | 2 | 1 | 73.48 |
| Yunlin County | 3 | 1 | 63.20 |
| Chiayi County | 3 | 1 | 66.91 |
| Tainan County | 3 | 2 | 74.06 |
| Kaohsiung County | 4 | 1 | 77.95 |
| Pingtung County | 4 | 1 | 76.38 |
| Taitung County | 1 | | 61.38 |
| Hualien County | 1 | | 59.24 |
| Penghu County | 1 | | 59.53 |
| Keelung City | 1 | 1 | 67.65 |
| Taichung City | 3 | | 74.42 |
| Tainan City | 2 | 1 | 74.64 |
| Mountain Indigenous | 2 | | 72.89 |
| Plains Indigenous (North) | 1 | | 64.70 |
| Plains Indigenous (South) | 1 | | 62.62 |
Source:

## Mayoral and magisterial elections
### Taipei

Magistrate of Taipei :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Lin Fong-cheng | Kuomintang | 558,263 | 69.79 |
| | 陳進炮 | Independent | 174,715 | 21.84 |
| | 李華京 | Independent | 37,726 | 4.72 |
| | 陳化義 | Kuomintang | 29,158 | 3.65 |
| Total | Total | Total | 799,862 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 799,862 | 97.02 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 24,548 | 2.98 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 824,410 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,269,420 | 64.94 |

### Keelung

Mayor of Keelung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | 張春熙 | Kuomintang | 76,651 | 58.83 |
| | 張金鐘 | Independent | 44,069 | 33.82 |
| | 林培鈞 | Independent | 9,577 | 7.35 |
| Total | Total | Total | 130,297 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 130,297 | 97.20 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,751 | 2.80 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 134,048 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 198,533 | 67.52 |

### Yilan

After 30 years in power, Kuomintang was hit by scandals of bribery and case-for-office in Yilan. Kuomintang nominated 李讚成 to run for office after he submitted nomination form just five minutes before the deadline, despite his repeated refusal beforehand.$^{:205}$ However divisions within the Kuomintang remained unsolved.$^{:207}$
The opposition Tangwai sent Chen Ding-nan after negotiations that saw his main rival You Si-kun agreed to run for Provincial Councillor instead, widely seen as a less challenging poll.$^{:207-9}$
Nevertheless, Chen unexpectedly defeated the ruling party and became the first non-KMT magistrate of Yilan in three decades. The nationalists would only regain the leadership in Taipei 25 years later when Chen, who returned after being urged by the Democratic Progressive Party, failed to save the losing party in Yilan.
Magistrate of Yilan :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Chen Ding-nan | Independent | 90,389 | 51.52 |
| | 李讚成 | Kuomintang | 82,117 | 46.80 |
| | 許仁修 | Independent | 2,939 | 1.68 |
| Total | Total | Total | 175,445 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 175,445 | 98.21 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,206 | 1.79 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 178,651 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 251,500 | 71.03 |

### Taoyuan

Magistrate of Taoyuan :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Hsu Hung-chih | Kuomintang | 255,763 | 59.95 |
| | 呂傳勝 | Independent | 162,567 | 38.11 |
| | 李思志 | Independent | 8,272 | 1.94 |
| Total | Total | Total | 426,602 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 426,602 | 97.65 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 10,279 | 2.35 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 436,881 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 583,060 | 74.93 |

### Hsinchu

Magistrate of Hsinchu :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Chen Chin-hsing | Kuomintang | 146,768 | 55.73 |
| | Fan Chen-tsung | Independent | 88,500 | 33.61 |
| | 劉榭燻 | Kuomintang | 14,744 | 5.60 |
| | 蔡維邦 | Independent | 13,326 | 5.06 |
| Total | Total | Total | 263,338 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 263,338 | 97.49 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6,789 | 2.51 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 270,127 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 366,219 | 73.76 |

### Miaoli

Magistrate of Miaoli :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Hsieh Chin-ting | Kuomintang | 95,063 | 42.25 |
| | 江聰仁 | Kuomintang | 80,666 | 35.85 |
| | 張鏡明 | Independent | 22,915 | 10.19 |
| | 張榮顯 | Independent | 15,933 | 7.08 |
| | 黃昌文 | Independent | 10,409 | 4.63 |
| Total | Total | Total | 224,986 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 224,986 | 97.35 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6,135 | 2.65 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 231,121 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 310,074 | 74.54 |

### Taichung

Magistrate of Taichung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | 陳庚金 | Kuomintang | 249,097 | 58.32 |
| | 陳正中 | Independent | 169,851 | 39.77 |
| | 鄭炳照 | Independent | 8,171 | 1.91 |
| Total | Total | Total | 427,119 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 427,119 | 96.66 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 14,753 | 3.34 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 441,872 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 565,340 | 78.16 |
Incumbent Tangwai mayor Tzeng Wen-po (曾文坡) faced challenge from KMT-supported Lin Po-jung (林柏榕) and another Tangwai colleague 劉文雄. After a "smear" campaign by the Kuomintang exposing his nightclub life, Tzeng failed to win a second term, while Lin garnered additional support from local factions.
Mayor of Taichung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Lin Po-jung | Kuomintang | 137,174 | 56.34 |
| | Tzeng Wen-po | Independent | 63,076 | 25.91 |
| | 劉文雄 | Independent | 35,544 | 14.60 |
| | 謝介銘 | Kuomintang | 7,670 | 3.15 |
| Total | Total | Total | 243,464 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 243,464 | 97.67 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 5,820 | 2.33 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 249,284 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 335,084 | 74.39 |

### Changhua

A fierce party primary with 14 hopefuls aiming for the party's nomination forced the party headquarter to nominate 陳伯村, friend of Vice President Hsieh Tung-min who worked in the Provincial Government and unaffiliated to any of the powerful local factions.
George Huang, who failed to win the magistrate in the last election, represented the Tangwai after he was considered to be well known in the county, despite facing some criticisms of "fake opposition". Huang Shun-hsing, the main foe of George Huang and former Taitung Magistrate, agreed to support him as an act of courtesy.
The grievance by the local factions and the uninspiring performance by Kuomintang's incumbent magistrate boosted Huang's support. The independent eventually defeated the KMT's nominee, the first in 12 years.
Magistrate of Changhua :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | George Huang | Independent | 270,520 | 53.57 |
| | 陳伯村 | Kuomintang | 234,488 | 46.43 |
| Total | Total | Total | 505,008 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 505,008 | 96.99 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 15,673 | 3.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 520,681 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 655,622 | 79.42 |

### Nantou

Kuomintang put up Wu Den-yih's name for Nantou's poll. The Taipei City Councillor ranked eighth in the party's primary, thus prompting 楊國平, who won the primary, to resign from the party and join the race.
Supported by the opposition, 楊國平 was nonetheless unable to block Wu after losing the race, receiving around 40% of votes. Wu embarked on his triumphant political journey, leading him to the vice-presidency.
Magistrate of Nantou :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Wu Den-yih | Kuomintang | 130,322 | 60.54 |
| | 楊國平 | Independent | 84,932 | 39.46 |
| Total | Total | Total | 215,254 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 215,254 | 97.67 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 5,130 | 2.33 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 220,384 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 300,126 | 73.43 |

### Yunlin

Magistrate of Yunlin :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Hsu Wen-tsu | Kuomintang | 157,453 | 57.24 |
| | 黃蔴 | Independent | 117,638 | 42.76 |
| Total | Total | Total | 275,091 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 275,091 | 97.18 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 7,971 | 2.82 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 283,062 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 447,926 | 63.19 |

### Chiayi

Magistrate of Chiayi :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | 涂德錡 | Kuomintang | 215,539 | 70.11 |
| | 林麗蓮 | Independent | 74,270 | 24.16 |
| | 吳光耀 | Young China Party | 17,612 | 5.73 |
| Total | Total | Total | 307,421 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 307,421 | 96.43 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 11,386 | 3.57 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 318,807 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 477,744 | 66.73 |

### Tainan

Yang Pao-fa (楊寶發), the nationalist's incumbent magistrate, was apparently uninterested in re-election initially. He changed his mind after his rumoured promotion to the party headquarter was lost. Lee Ya-chiao (李雅樵), who was determined to represent the party in the upcoming election, came second in the party primary by a small margin.$^{:75-81}$ As the party settled on Yang's nomination, Lee's supporters urged Lee to ran in the election. He at last accepted the invitation by the party to become a county official as compensation.$^{:82,85}$
Two months before the election, Tainan was hit by downpour by typhoon. Without any rescue and food supply for two days, residents of the most affected regions denounced the local government for their slow response,$^{:89}$ harming the support of the incumbent.
On the other hand, Tangwai endorsed 蔡四結 who left the party before the election.$^{:93-4}$ Although unable to challenge Yang, he outranked the incumbent in the hard-hit township, demonstrating the anger by the public.
Magistrate of Tainan :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Yang Pao-fa | Kuomintang | 215,662 | 53.27 |
| | 蔡四結 | Independent | 189,172 | 46.73 |
| Total | Total | Total | 404,834 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 404,834 | 96.84 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 13,198 | 3.16 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 418,032 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 568,587 | 73.52 |
Su Nan-cheng, the incumbent mayor of Tainan, was seen as a shifting figure between the Kuomintang and Tangwai after he inclined towards the ruling party and denounced the liberals in the Kaohsiung crackdown. During his first four years of office he enjoyed well reputation for efficient governance.
Kuomintang decided against endorsing any hopefuls and allowed open race. Tangwai also did not send anyone to challenge the incumbent. Scandals including alleged bribery and collusion between Su and the KMT did little to damage the incumbent's re-election hope. Sweeping 77% of ballots, Su became the first Tainan Mayor to start a second term of office. He rejoined the party in the next year under Chiang Ching-kuo's directive.
Mayor of Tainan :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Su Nan-cheng | Independent | 190,588 | 77.17 |
| | 王奕棋 | Kuomintang | 34,294 | 13.89 |
| | 林永發 | Kuomintang | 11,391 | 4.61 |
| | 林三和 | Kuomintang | 10,704 | 4.33 |
| Total | Total | Total | 246,977 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 246,977 | 98.73 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,173 | 1.27 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 250,150 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 335,141 | 74.64 |

### Kaohsiung

Local party in Kaohsiung supported Deputy Speaker Tsai Ming-yao from the local "white faction" to hold the city's seat. Tangwai was represented by Yu Chen Yueh-ying, with the backing of opposition heavyweight Yu Teng-fa. During the governance of KMT, the size of electorate in the county surged significantly, one of the towns saw its franchise expanded by a half.
After voting ended, televised live of vote counting abruptly suspended for a while. Mrs. Yu, who was originally leading Tsai by more than 20,000 votes, was narrowly defeated eventually. Yu Teng-fa, outraged by the fraudulent result, blamed himself for not doing the best while supervising the vote count.
Magistrate of Kaohsiung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Tsai Ming-yao | Kuomintang | 212,726 | 49.91 |
| | Yu Chen Yueh-ying | Independent | 209,109 | 49.06 |
| | 陳進昌 | Independent | 4,390 | 1.03 |
| Total | Total | Total | 426,225 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 426,225 | 98.11 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 8,214 | 1.89 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 434,439 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 557,579 | 77.92 |

### Pingtung

Chiou Lien-hui, member of the Tangwai after leaving the party four years ago, was serving as Provincial Councillor, but decided to run for Pingtung Magistrate after refusing Province Chairman's offer in government.
Due to the demographic in the county, Hokkien community was by convention considered to be the rightful holder of the leadership with the Hakka deputising. Kuomintang therefore nominated Hokkien 陳恒盛, while Chiou was, on the other hand, questioned for endorsing Hakka in the previous election.
Kuomintang was allegedly attempting to instigate hatred against Hakka to gather more votes, as 陳恒盛 repeatedly highlighted the importance of Hokkien's unity in canvassing. In spite of the Hokkien–Hakka bitter relations, Chiou beat KMT after rallying support from some of the Hokkien and some from the Kuomintang.
Magistrate of Pingtung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Chiou Lien-hui | Independent | 186,925 | 49.49 |
| | 陳恒盛 | Kuomintang | 166,168 | 43.99 |
| | 陳榮宗 | Independent | 14,273 | 3.78 |
| | 林忠嘉 | Independent | 7,388 | 1.96 |
| | 李慶和 | Independent | 2,966 | 0.79 |
| Total | Total | Total | 377,720 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 377,720 | 97.52 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 9,619 | 2.48 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 387,339 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 507,170 | 76.37 |

### Taitung

Facing resentment from some of the local factions for favouring the rivalry factions, Chiang Sheng-ai (蔣聖愛), the incumbent, was re-elected but with three quarters of votes only. Some 25% went to political outsider 屠耀生, a taxi driver, regarded as no-confidence ballots against Chiang.
Magistrate of Taitung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | Chiang Sheng-ai | Kuomintang | 69,813 | 75.24 |
| | 屠耀生 | Kuomintang | 22,980 | 24.76 |
| Total | Total | Total | 92,793 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 92,793 | 95.99 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 3,878 | 4.01 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 96,671 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 154,422 | 62.60 |

### Hualian

Magistrate of Hualian :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | 吳水雲 | Kuomintang | 119,980 | 100.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 119,980 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 119,980 | 95.47 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 5,697 | 4.53 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 125,677 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 204,359 | 61.50 |

### Penghu

Magistrate of Taitung :
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Votes | % |
| | 謝有溫 | Kuomintang | 33,104 | 100.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 33,104 | 100.00 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | Valid votes | 33,104 | 95.72 |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 1,482 | 4.28 |
| Total votes | Total votes | Total votes | 34,586 | 100.00 |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 58,104 | 59.52 |
Source: