Hualien is a mountain county in eastern Taiwan with a population of only 350,000. Because this by-election was widely held to be the first skirmish of next year's presidential election, it was contested with unprecedented fierceness, and turned Hualien, known as a haven of peace and tranquility, into a battleground.
相較於西部各大縣市，花蓮縣這個人口只有三十五萬人的山城，由於這一次補選被解讀為明年總統大選前哨戰，使得補選戰況空前激烈，號稱淨土的花蓮一夕變得擾攘不安。