Taiwan reprimands ruling party and strengthens opposition to China | News from the world

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) – In local elections, Taiwan 's voters have sharply reprimanded the pro – independence ruling party, providing pro – China opposition with a new personality, which one of the key figures has announced. he will now reach out to Beijing to form new friendships.

The ruling Democratic Party (DPP) suffered a major electoral loss in Saturday's elections, losing two key mayoral races, while the opposition, the Kuomintang, took or retained control of 15 cities. and counties, leaving only six people at the PDP.

A little more than a year before the presidential election, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who has tense relations with Beijing since her election in 2016, on Saturday accepted responsibility for the losses of her party and has resigned from his PDP presidency.

The elected mayor of the Kuomintang of the southern port city of Kaohsiung, former stronghold of the DPP, quickly surrendered on Saturday night to reach out to China, telling local media that he would create a working group on relations with China and remove barriers.

"We have no wall around our hearts," said Han Kuo-yu, who previously described Taiwan's independence as being "more scary" than syphilis.

The Kuomintang has sent delegations to China since taking office in Tsai, where they were warmly welcomed. China refused to have direct contact with the Tsai administration.

China, which claims Taiwan is a rebel province, said the elections showed the people want peaceful relations with Beijing.

"The results reflected the strong will of the Taiwanese public in the hope of continuing to share the benefits of the peaceful development of relations in the Taiwan Strait, as well as its ardent desire to improve the economy. of the island and the well-being of the people, "said a statement from the Taiwan Affairs Bureau of Policy Development and disseminated by the state media.

Voters also rejected a referendum that would have seen the island join the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 as Taiwan, rather than "Chinese Taipei," an initiative that would have angered Beijing.

The Chinese Taiwanese Affairs Bureau told the protesters that "putting the interests of Taiwanese athletes at stake is against the will of the people". "Attempts to" Taiwan's independence "are doomed to failure, the paper added.

According to WeChat's account of the People's Daily Communist Party's overseas edition, Han realized an important reality: "Taiwan will only be good if relations in the Taiwan Strait are good".

China suspects Tsai of wanting official independence, a red line for Beijing that considers Taiwan as its own.

Tsai said that she only wanted the status quo with China, but that she would defend Taiwan's security. Chinese law prohibits the use of force to prevent the secession of the island.

Tensions across the Taiwan Strait increased with China, which organized military exercises around the island and delighted the reduced number of diplomatic allies in Taiwan.

PDP Secretary General, Hung Yao-fu, asked on Saturday whether the China factor had played a role in influencing the elections, recalled that there had been a problem of "false information".

"I think this time was a profound lesson, in terms of false information that spoils the judgment of many people or that does not receive clear information," he told reporters.

"It's a global problem and not just Taiwan's unique problem."

SPECIAL RIGHT TO EQUALITY OF MARRIAGE

Taiwanese voters also rejected Saturday a referendum on the legalization of same-sex marriage, another blow to Tsai, who in his 2016 campaign had promised equal marriages. However, she made little progress on the issue.

At a premiere in Asia, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan said in May of last year that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry and set a two-year deadline for legalization .

But voters instead supported a referendum that defines marriage as a man and a woman.

"This is a victory for all those who stand up for family values ​​and education for the next generation," said the coalition for the happiness of our next generation, a group opposed to same-sex marriage.

Taiwanese cabinet spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka told Reuters that a special law will be promulgated in favor of equal marriage and that the government continues to support the case.

Human rights activists have described a special law on same-sex marriage as "discriminatory", saying the referendum was illegal and unconstitutional.

Dozens of equality-seeking marriages gathered Sunday in the capital, Taipei, and some cried when the result became apparent. Chi Chia-wei, a veteran of gay rights, said he remained optimistic about the fight for equality.

"Those who oppose us are fewer and fewer," he told Reuters.

The Taiwanese capital, Taipei, annually celebrates a gay pride parade that highlights the vitality of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The celebration of a week in October, the largest in Asia, brings in more than $ 3.3 million to the economy, according to the Taipei Times.

(Report by Ben Blanchard and Yimou Lee, additional report by Jess Macy Yu and David Stanway in Shanghai, Michael Perry edition)

Copyright 2018 Thomson Reuters.