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Economics or Independence? Taiwan Mid-Term Elections

Published 6 years ago Shirley W.6y ago • Bookmarks: 842813

The Taiwanese local election took place on Saturday November 24, with citizens voting for their favored political party and referendums that address controversial issues within the country. This year’s mid-terms resulted in unexpected outcomes and definite changes to the government.

The recent local election ended in a major defeat for the ruling party (Democratic Progressive Party or DPP, an independent party that favors separation between Taiwan and China). Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as head of the DPP immediately after the results came in.

According to Global Times, “local elections, or nine-in-one elections, elect representatives to nine levels of government including mayors and councilors.” The DPP’s rival political party, the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT, which is the other major political party, and supports the “One China” policy), won 15 seats versus the DPP’s 6 seats among the 22 counties and city chief posts in the election. With the voting results, it is evident that Taiwanese citizens are unhappy with the Democratic Progressive Party and President Tsai’s two-year-old administration.

On the day of the election, Chinese television broadcast channels carefully inspected the results and updated their citizens on the Taiwanese election. With the pro-Beijing party dominating the elections, China is concluding that Taiwan will agree to the “One China” policy, but many voters still deny this. In terms of economic improvement, having better relations with China was deemed to be the better choice, considering the mediocre economic status under President Tsai’s administration. Tsai’s strained relations with China have decreased tourism rates ever since she took office two years ago, with a platform promising economic growth.

Although voters were largely in favor of the KMT in the local elections, DPP independent candidate Ko Wen-Je narrowly won the Taipei mayor election with several thousand votes over his adversary, KMT candidate Ting Shou-chung. In response to his defeat, Ting Shou-chung has taken the case to court, requesting for the election to be invalidated. On another note, ballots during the mid-terms also resulted in approved referendums rejecting same-sex marriage and the changing of Olympic name Chinese Taipei to Taiwan. This caused a major setback for LGBTQ+ couples who expected Taiwan to be the “first Asian country to keep the same-sex marriage legal within two years” (The Guardian.com). Since the referendums are only advisory, law-makers are still thoroughly conflicted with this case because of public opinion.

Stanley W., a senior at AISG and a Taiwanese citizen, highlighted important points regarding the election: “The two parties are moving to the extremes. KMT is more pro-reunion than ever, and the DPP is more pro-independence [than] ever. I would, however, argue against the Chinese interpretation that such election result indicates more willingness in reunion. People vote KMT because they disapprove DPP policies, not just about independence or not. It’s not about whether or not Taiwan is a country, but whether or not to formally declare independence.”

Jason W., another senior, reflected on the results of the election. “I personally think first of all, the landslide defeat of the DPP reflects Taiwanese people’s disapproval of Tsai’s policies regarding cross-strait relations. Her tough stance against China brought the decline in Taiwan’s tourism industry, a prominent sector in the Taiwanese economy. With that said, this might be a good indication of how people will vote in 2020 during the Presidential Election.”

Lastly, senior Eagle C. had a different perspective on the case, inspecting the overall process of the voting: “Regardless of the outcome, it is clear that there are some changes that need to be made for the government in Taiwan as the whole election process was extremely unorganized with people voting while the [votes] are being counted. This also shows how desperate the citizens want to vote and try to change Taiwan.”

As this decade-old conflict between China and Taiwan continues, the Democratic Progressive Party will be under intense pressure during the 2020 presidential election. Despite having the upper-hand in the mid-terms, the Kuomintang party will still face very controversial issues with the public regarding China. In the end, both parties will flood into the polls, weigh their choices, and vote for what they believe to be the better path for their future.

Source: SCMP.com, Central News Agency The results of the local election, compared to the previous election in 2014

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