Taiwan Premier Jiang Yi-hua Resigns After Election Defeat Saturday Nov 29,2014

 

Taiwan’s ruling Nationalist Party suffered a landslide defeat in local elections Saturday Nov 29,2014, prompting the resignation of the premier Jiang Yi-hua and leaving the party weakened before a presidential vote in two years.

Also known as the Kuomintang, or KMT, the ruling party which Beijing prefers to deal with, clinched six out of the 22 seats for city and county heads, far fewer than the 15 it won in the previous race four years ago

The main opposition Democratic Progressive Party(DPP) bagged 13 and three went to independent candidates.

In Taipei, where mayorship has been seen as a steppingstone to the presidency, political newcomer, physician and independent candidate Ko Wen-JE beat KMT runner Sean Lien, former investment banker and the son of Taiwan’s former vice president.

In Taichung, the third most populous city in central Taiwan, DPP challenger Lin Chia-lung trumped incumbent KMT Mayor Jason Hu of 13 years. Five other DPP candidates also unseated incumbent KMT mayors

KMT’s landslide defeat shows the government has failed to address voters’ concerns about stagnant wages and income inequality, despite building stronger economic ties with China

The defeat for the Nationalists in the traditional strongholds of Taipei and Taichung, among other losses, are likely to bring discomfort to Beijing, which has forged a working relationship with the current Taiwanese government after decades of fraught ties from civil war.

 Beijing is wary of the DPP, which rejects an eventual reunification with China.