New mayors officially took office in Taiwan's two biggest cities, Taipei and Kaohsiung, on Monday, amid a flurry of controversy.

In Taipei, Hau Long-bin assumed authority, while Chen Chu took office in Kaohsiung.

Ma Ying-jeou left his post as Taipei mayor on Monday. He will hence serve only as chairman of the Kuomintang Party (KMT).

He was replaced by fellow KMT member Hau Long-bin who beat his main rival Frank Hsieh of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with 54 percent of the vote in the election on Dec. 9.

Chen Chu, of the DPP, narrowly won the race with KMT's Huang Chun-ying for the mayoralty of the southern city of Kaohsiung, with 49 percent of the vote.

Controversy still surrounds the election in Kaohsiung with allegations of vote-buying during the election. KMT candidate Huang has refused to acknowledge his defeat and has threatened to challenge the election result in court.

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2006)