Court Rejects Appeals by China-Born Candidates Barred From Local Elections

A Taipei court has rejected appeals from several China-born candidates who were disqualified from running in November’s local elections. Election authorities ruled the candidates ineligible after they failed to provide proof that they had given up their Chinese household registration at least 10 years ago. Among them is Lai Wen-you, a Hualien County village chief candidate whose China-born mother was previously removed from the same post he was running for. Former Taiwan People’s Party legislator Li Chen-hsiu also saw her bid for mayor of Zhubei rejected. In total, 11 China-born candidates have been disqualified from November’s polls.