“The government will not change its existing cross-strait policy or alter its progress,” he said in his first public remarks after his party, the ruling Kuomintang (KMT), won three of the five mayoral seats in the biggest cities. “Taiwan’s democracy cannot be allowed to regress. It must move steadily forward, no matter what challenges may arise”.
Since President Ma won elections in 2008, he has pushed hard for closer economic relations with Mainland China. The governments in Beijing and Taipei have grown measurably closer, introducing direct flights, markedly increasing tourism, signing a trade accord and increasing Chinese investment in Taiwan. But the opposition, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), doesn’t support Ma’s successful cross-strait policy.
The victory in the majority of the five electoral contests can be seen as a support for President Ma and his party. Crucial was the result in the capital Taipei, voters elected incumbent KMT Mayor Hau Lung-bin over the DPP’s Su Tseng-chang. Hau garnered 56 percent to 44 percent for his opponent. Did Mr. Su, expecting to be DPP’s opponent of President Ma in the Presidential Elections of 2012, miss his chance? The Taipei’s mayor’s post was the springboard to the presidency, both for the current President Dr Ma and his predecessor Chen Shui-bian.
In the hotly contested November 27 elections, the KMT hold on to mayoral seats in Taipei, Xinbei and Taichung, with the DPP winning Tainan and Kaohsiung.The overall vote count in the 5 cities, making up together about three-fifths of Taiwan’s population, saw the DPP grabbing 3.77 million (49.87 percent), while the KMT took 3.37 million (44.54 percent) votes.
President Ma, who also serves as KMT chairman, asked his party to reflect on the election results, unite to face the future, persist in reform and deepen democracy. He attributed the KMT’s lower than expected share of the total vote in part to a third candidate with a similar platform in one of the mayoral races, drawing votes away from the ruling party’s candidate.
