TPP's Hsu Chung-hsin to replace Li Chen-hsiu in Legislature: CEC

Taipei, April 15 (CNA) The Central Election Commission (CEC) on Wednesday announced that Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) of the opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) will fill a vacant at-large legislative seat following the removal of Li Chen-hsiu (李貞秀).

Li was expelled from the TPP earlier this week and subsequently lost her legislative seat.

● Li Chen-hsiu kicked out of TPP, removed from Legislature

Hsu will serve for the remainder of the current term of the 11th Legislative Yuan, the CEC said. The current Legislature runs from Feb. 1, 2024, to Jan. 31, 2028.

The commission said it received official notice of Li's removal from the Legislative Yuan on Wednesday morning and determined her replacement in accordance with the Public Officials Election and Recall Act.

Hsu previously served as an at-large legislator from 2012 to 2014 as a member of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, now known as the Taiwan Solidarity Party.

Following Li's expulsion on Monday, the CEC said it received formal documentation from the TPP and requested that the Legislative Yuan proceed with her removal.

Li, the first China-born naturalized Taiwanese citizen to become a democratically elected lawmaker, took office in February but faced controversy from the outset.

Questions were raised over whether she had completed the legal process of renouncing her People's Republic of China nationality.

● TPP lawmaker sworn in as nationality status remains unresolved

More recently, the TPP's Central Review Committee determined that Li had made statements and taken actions that harmed the party's reputation and unity, leading to her expulsion.