Taiwan rebukes ruling party, emboldens China-friendly opposition

Reuters, Taipei :
Voters in Taiwan have delivered a strong rebuke to the island’s pro-independence ruling party in local elections, emboldening the China-friendly opposition, one of whose main figures says he will now reach out to Beijing to forge more friendly ties.
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) suffered major elections loss on Saturday, losing two key mayoral races, while the opposition Kuomintang took or retained control of 15 cities and counties, leaving the DPP with only six.
With little more than a year before presidential elections, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, who has had tense relations with Beijing since her election in 2016, on Saturday took responsibility for her party’s losses and resigned as DPP chairwoman.
The Kuomintang mayor-elect of the southern port city of Kaohsiung, formerly a DPP stronghold, moved swiftly on Saturday night to reach out to China, telling local media he will set up a working group on China relations and will break down barriers. “We have no walls around our hearts,” said Han Kuo-yu, who has previously described Taiwan independence as being “more scary” than syphilis.
The Kuomintang has sent delegations to China since Tsai took office, where they have been warmly received. China has refused to have direct contacts with Tsai’s administration. China, which claims Taiwan as a wayward province, said the elections showed people wanted peaceful relations with Beijing.
“The results reflected the strong will of the Taiwan public in hoping to continue to share the benefits of the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, and their strong wish in hoping to improve the island’s economy and people’s wellbeing,” said a statement by China’s policy-making Taiwan Affairs Office and carried by state media.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said China should respect Taiwan’s internal affairs and democracy and not “interpret the expectations of Taiwan’s people toward relations across the Taiwan Strait”.
In an implicit warning to China not to contact newly-elected Kuomintang officials, the council said deliberately political Chinese approaches to local governments and people would not help “positive interactions” with Taiwan.