On Saturday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as leader of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after election defeats in key midterm polls.
“As chairperson of the ruling party, I will take complete responsibility for the outcome of today's local elections,” Tsai, the first woman to be elected president of Taiwan, told reporters Saturday, Channel News Asia reported.
“I resign as DPP chairperson. Our efforts weren't enough and we let down all our supporters who fought with us. I want to express our most sincere apologies,” Tsai added.
In the Saturday elections, the DPP lost seven of its 13 cities and counties to main opposition Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT). The next presidential election will take place in January 2020.
Tsai has faced domestic backlash over her rhetoric regarding uniting against Beijing's expansionism.
In addition, China is deeply suspicious of Tsai. Since taking office in 2016, Beijing has ramped up military drills near Taiwan's coast, sparking fears that it might use its military to bar Taiwan from declaring full independence. China-Taiwan relations have been patchy since the two sides split in 1949 during the Chinese Civil War.
Beijing considers self-governing Taipei — lying just 100 miles or so off the Chinese mainland — to be part of its territory and claims sovereignty over the island. Taiwan, however, still bears the name of the pre-Communist-era government, the Republic of China, whose…
