Taiwan's president leaves office after local election setbacks

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after suffering a major electoral defeat on Saturday, losing two of the city's most important posts municipal elections.

The results of the polls, which are taking place a little over a year before the next presidential election in Taiwan, should please China, which claims Taiwan's autonomy and democratic pride, and has intensified the pressure on Tsai and his administration since taking office. in 2016.

In the run-up to the elections, Tsai and his government repeatedly said that China was trying to persuade voters of "political bullying" and "false information," accusations denied by Beijing.

The PDP lost control of Taichung City Hall, Taiwan's second-most populous city, and the main Kaohsiung battlefield in the south of the country, which it occupied for two decades and which played a central role in the movement for democracy in Taiwan in the 1970s.

Both parties were won by the Chinese-friendly opposition, the Kuomintang, which ruled China before fleeing to Taiwan at the end of a civil war with the communists in 1949.

Tsai said the PDP would reflect on the defeat, but she vowed to continue.

"Pursuing the reforms, freedom and democracy, and protecting the sovereignty of the country are missions that the PDP will not abandon," she told reporters.

She said she would not accept the resignation of her prime minister, William Lai, who had offered to resign earlier in the evening.

However, the PDP held firm in two of its other bastions, guarding Tainan in the south and Taoyuan in the north.

"TRAGIC DEFEAT"

The PDP has left only six cities and counties in Taiwan, compared to at least 15 in the Kuomintang.

"This is a tragic defeat for the PDP," Yao Chia-wen, one of the chief advisers to the president, told Reuters.

"But this is not a support of the people for the Kuomintang. This is the disappointment of the people vis-à-vis the PDP, "he said, citing slower than expected initiatives that have sparked criticism, including pension and justice reforms.

Votes were still counted in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, where outgoing mayor Ko Wen-i is independent and rivals Ting Shou-chung of the Kuomintang, and the PDP is third.

Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang's elected mayor of Kaohsiung, who called the city "old-fashioned and poor" during the election campaign, told a rally that he would mobilize to revive his economy.

"We must immediately roll up our sleeves and get to work," said Han, referring to what was once one of the most active ports in the world, but which has lost much of its activity in favor of China.

Beijing did not respond immediately to the survey results. The media simply noted Tsai's resignation as president of the party "to assume responsibility for the party's performance in local elections in Taiwan".

A spokesman for the US State Department praised Taiwan for "demonstrating the strength of its dynamic democratic system through a successful ballot".

HIGH TURNOUT

Taiwanese TV channels reported high turnout, with some polling stations in parts of Taipei and Kaohsiung remaining open beyond 4:00 pm (08:00 GMT) when the polls closed.

The candidates traveled across the island to shake hands and solicit votes. They organized noisy and colorful rallies that have become the hallmark of the dynamics of Taiwan's democracy, unlike China, where the Communist Party tolerates no dissent.

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have increased, with China organizing military exercises around the island and removing a small number of diplomatic allies from Taiwan.

Tsai's internal reform initiatives, from the island's labor law pension scheme, were also scrutinized by voters.

Confidence in the government has faded in recent months after reforms overthrew the opposition and some supporters, who claimed that Mr. Tsai was kept out of the promises deficit reduction and pollution.

Tsai's challenge is underpinned by a series of public votes held Saturday on the issue of whether to legalize same-sex marriage, an issue that has deeply divided Taiwan.

"It's a small step for me but a big step for humanity," Chi Chia-wei, a gay rights activist who asked the Taiwan constitutional court to take up the issue after to have voted.

Tsai made little progress despite his campaign on a promise of marriage equality before the 2016 elections.

In its first decision in Asia, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan declared last May that same-sex couples had the right to marry legally and set a two-year deadline for legalization.

Voters were also asked if the island would join the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as Taiwan, rather than "Chinese Taipei" – the name was accepted as part of a compromise signed in 1981.

A vote to compete under a Taiwanese banner would further enthuse Beijing, which has never given up the use of force to bring the island under its control.

The results of the referendum votes may not be known before the early hours of Sunday morning, according to election officials.