Taiwan President Resigns as Party Head After Local Election Losses – The president of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, resigned as head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), after the party suffered defeats in local elections on Saturday. Several major races across Taiwan’s self-governed island were won by the opposition Nationalist party in an election in which concerns about China’s threats took a back seat to more local concerns. During her DPP campaign, Tsai frequently referred to “opposing China and protecting Taiwan.”
However, the party’s candidate for mayor of Taipei, Chen Shih-chung, who lost the election, raised the issue of the Communist party’s threat only a few times before quickly switching back to local issues, according to experts. Tsai tendered her resignation on Saturday evening, as is customary after a significant defeat, in a brief address in which she also thanked her supporters. “I must shoulder all the responsibility,” she said. “Faced with a result like this, there are many areas that we must deeply review.”
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While international observers and the ruling party have attempted to link the elections to the long-term existential threat posed by Taiwan’s neighbor, many local experts believe that China – which claims the island as its territory, to be annexed by force if necessary – will not play a significant role in the upcoming election. “The international community has raised the stakes too high. They’ve raised a local election to this international level, and Taiwan’s survival,” said Yeh-lih Wang, a political science professor at National Taiwan University.
During campaigning, there were few mentions of the large-scale military exercises targeting Taiwan that China conducted in August in reaction to a visit by the US House speaker, Nancy Pelosi. “So I think if you can’t even raise this issue in Taipei,” Wang said. “You don’t even need to consider it in cities in the south.” Candidates from the Nationalist party won the mayoral seat in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, as well as in Taoyuan, Taichung and New Taipei city. The public voted for mayors, city council members and other local leaders in all 13 counties and in nine cities.
According to local media, there was also a vote on lowering the voting age from 20 to 18, which failed. Chiang Wan-an, the newly elected mayor of Taipei, declared victory at a large rally on Saturday night. He stated, “I will let the world see Taipei’s greatness.” At the time of his speech, not all votes had been formally counted, but Chiang and the other candidates’ numerical advantage allowed them to declare victory. Kao Hung-an, a candidate in the relatively new Taiwan People’s party, won the mayoral seat in Hsinchu, a city home to many of Taiwan’s semiconductor companies.
Air pollution in the central city of Taichung, traffic congestion in Taipei’s tech hub, Nangang, and the island’s Covid-19 vaccine purchasing strategies, which left the island in short supply during an outbreak last year, had been the focus of campaigns. The DPP’s loss may be partially attributable to its handling of the pandemic. “The public has some dissatisfaction with the DPP on this, even though Taiwan has done well, relatively speaking in pandemic prevention,” said Huang Wei-hao, a political science professor at National Sun Yat-sen University.
Despite the rain, young and old voters arrived early at an elementary school in New Taipei City, which surrounds Taipei. 60-year-old Yu Mei-zhu stated that she came to vote for the incumbent mayor, Hou You-yi.”I think he has done well, so I want to continue to support him. I believe in him, and that he can improve our environment in New Taipei City and our transportation infrastructure.” Tsai came out early on Saturday morning to cast her ballot, catching many voters by surprise as her security and entourage swept through the school.
“If the DPP loses many county seats, then their ability to rule will face a very strong challenge,” said You Ying-lung, chair at the Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation, which regularly conducts public surveys on political issues. The election results will in some ways also reflect the public’s attitude toward the ruling party’s performance over the last two years, You said.
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“It feels as if everyone is almost the same, from a policy standpoint,” said 26-year-old Sean Tai, an employee at a hardware store. Tai declined to say who he voted for, but wants someone who will raise Taipei’s profile and bring better economic prospects while keeping the status quo with China. “We don’t want to be completely sealed off. I really hope that Taiwan can be seen internationally,” he said.
