Taiwan finished voting in its regional elections and on multiple referendums on Nov. 24, 2018. Several western mainstream media outlets have interpreted the results as a victory for China and the comeback of conservatism; however, this type of analysis overlooks the political dynamics within Taiwan. This post attempts to clarify the picture by providing readers with more political context on the elections and referendum results.
The were an obvious setback for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as it has only retained six out of the 22 mayoral and county magistrate seats. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took responsibility for the election losses and stepped down as party chief on the same day.
The multiple-referendum voting consisted of 10 questions ranging from LGBTQ rights and same-sex marriage, the choice between “Taiwan” or “Chinese Taipei” at international sporting events, the development of nuclear power, etc. Below shows the referendum results:
