Reuters, Taipei :
Chinese state media heaped pressure on Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday after her ruling pro-independence party suffered heavy defeats in local elections at the weekend, as party officials sought to work out what went wrong.
Tsai, who faces a presidential election in a little over a year, resigned on Saturday as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after losing key battleground cities in mayoral polls to the China-friendly Kuomintang.
The DPP now only controls six cities and counties to the Kuomintang’s 15.
Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang’s mayor-elect in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, and the most high profile of the party’s winners, said he would open the door to contacts with China.
Beijing has refused to deal with Tsai’s administration since she took office in 2016, accusing her of pushing for the island’s formal independence.
That is a red line for China, which considers the democratic island sacred Chinese territory.
Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo with China but will defend Taiwan’s security and democracy, especially in the face of ramped up Chinese pressure such as whittling down Taiwan’s dwindling band of diplomatic allies.
Chinese state media heaped pressure on Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday after her ruling pro-independence party suffered heavy defeats in local elections at the weekend, as party officials sought to work out what went wrong.
Tsai, who faces a presidential election in a little over a year, resigned on Saturday as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after losing key battleground cities in mayoral polls to the China-friendly Kuomintang.
The DPP now only controls six cities and counties to the Kuomintang’s 15.
Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang’s mayor-elect in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, and the most high profile of the party’s winners, said he would open the door to contacts with China.
Beijing has refused to deal with Tsai’s administration since she took office in 2016, accusing her of pushing for the island’s formal independence.
That is a red line for China, which considers the democratic island sacred Chinese territory.
Tsai has said she wants to maintain the status quo with China but will defend Taiwan’s security and democracy, especially in the face of ramped up Chinese pressure such as whittling down Taiwan’s dwindling band of diplomatic allies.
