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Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen
Photo: RITCHIE B. TONGO/EPA
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen resigned as party leader after losing local elections.
In a televised address Saturday night, Tsai said she would take responsibility for the Progressive Democratic Party's (DDP) poor performance.
The islanders elected a total of 21 mayors and around 11,000 local councilors on Saturday.
The opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT) was able to largely retain its electorate compared to the last elections four years ago, while the DDP suffered significant losses.
In the capital Taipei, a KMT candidate, Chiang Wan-an, has also won the mayoral post.
Chiang is the great-grandson of former military dictator Chiang Kai-shek.
He fled from China to Taiwan in 1949 after the Kuomintang lost the civil war against the communists.
The KMT is seen as right-wing conservative and anxious to get closer to China.
Tsai described the election as an opportunity "to show Taiwan's international community perseverance and determination in defending freedom and democracy."
Now she said her party has no time to mourn: Given the "current international situation and future challenges," Taiwan cannot afford to hesitate.
KMT boss Eric Chu declared his party the winner
Taiwan is under growing pressure from Beijing, which regards the island, which has been seceded since 1949, as a breakaway territory and wants to reunite it with mainland China - if necessary using military force.
Tensions reached a new high last August when Beijing held large-scale military exercises around the democratically ruled island in protest at a visit by US leader Nancy Pelosi to Taipei.
KMT leader Eric Chu declared his party the winner of the local elections.
His KMT will "work hard to keep the peace in the region," he said at a press conference.
She will "selflessly" serve the interests of the Taiwanese people and thus increase her chances of winning the presidential election in 2024.
During her reign, the KMT maintained significantly closer ties with Beijing than did Tsai and her DDP.
yes/dpa/AFP
