Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen resigned as Head of governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after its poor showing in local elections. The opposition Koumintang (KMT) gained majority in several races on Saturday, It was successful in bagging victory on 13 out of 21 mayor and Country chief seats, including in the capital Taipei. Tsai offered her resignation on Saturday evening after major losses in elections. She also thanked the supporters in a short speech.
“I must shoulder all the responsibility”, she said. “faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review”
The vote has drawn global attention as Taiwan becomes a bigger geopolitical flashpoint between China and The US. Thus Tsai has viewed elections more than a local vote, saying the world is watching how Taiwan defends its democracy in the wake of ongoing military Tension with China, which claims the Island as its territory.
Tsai said, “The result failed our expectations. We humbly accept the results and accept the Taiwanese people’s decision” while talking to reporters at party headquarters as she quits as party head the way she did in 2018 after poor election results. However, she will continue as country’s president till 2024.
The elections for local councils and mayor theoretically have a domestic focus, covering issues such as COVID-19 pandemic, crimes, housing and social welfare, and those elected will not have a direct effect on Taiwan’s policy regarding China.
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Ideologies of Two parties
There are two main political parties in Taiwan having a clash of ideologies regarding policy about China.
Koumintang (KMT) is a party of Conservative business champions and are considered pro China “dove”. They have strong inclination towards unification and have always advocated economic engagement with China, though they deny being Pro China.
The other party Democratic Progressive Party is the contemporary ruling party as elected in 2020 national elections. Tsai has been the Head of the party and current president of Taiwan. She has a strong stance towards China saying that Beijing should show respect towards Taipei and that the capital would never bow to pressure.
Tsai is serving her second term in office and cannot stand again as president because of the term limit.
