Taiwan’s ruling party took a huge hit in mid-term local elections Saturday, a significant blow to President Tsai Ing-wen, as the Beijing…
Taiwan’s ruling party took a huge hit in mid-term local elections Saturday, a significant blow to President Tsai Ing-wen, as the Beijing-friendly opposition made gains in the face of China’s increasing pressure on the island.
Taiwan is still awaiting the result of a closely watched referendum on gay marriage, with activists fearing a win for conservative “pro-family” campaigners could turn back the clock on the island’s reputation as a trailblazer for marriage equality.
Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have faced a mounting backlash over domestic reforms and concerns about deteriorating ties with China, which still sees self-ruling Taiwan as part of its territory to be reunified.
The main opposition Kuomintang party (KMT), which oversaw an unprecedented thaw with Beijing before Tsai took office in 2016, has declared victory in 15 of 22 city and county seats, up from just six going into the election.
The DPP, which went into the election with 13 seats, has declared victory in only six and has lost its traditional stronghold in Kaohsiung city for the first time in 20 years.
Beijing has intensified pressure on Taiwan under Tsai, upping military drills, poaching diplomatic allies and successfully convincing international businesses to list Taiwan as part of China on their websites.
