The Taiwan Nationalist Party, chose Eric Chu, who was a former leader of the party, as its new Chairperson in an election conducted on Saturday. Nationalist Party was Taiwan’s main opposition, led by Johnny Chiang in the previous term.
Four candidates competed for the leadership of the party, including incumbent chair, Johnny Chiang. The party had advocated closer relations with Beijing which means that it agreed China’s demand to regard Taiwan as a part of China. The election of the opposition party was overshadowed by pressure from China.
The ruling Democratic Party of Taiwan refused to agree to Beijing’s demand. China had threatened to bring Taiwan under its control by using force. Military, diplomatic and economic pressure were imposed by China’s, to sabotage Tsai Ing-wen’s governance of Taiwan.
In 2016, Chu lost against Tsai in the elections while he served as party chair and head of the region outside the capital city of Taipei. He might emerge as the candidate of Nationalist party in the next presidential election in 2024. Tsai was constitutionally barred from contesting for a third term.
As Mao Zedong’s Communist party won the election by a huge majority, on mainland China, the Nationalist government, which rose to power in China in the 1920s, was relocated to Taiwan in 1949. The Nationalists were the ones to lead struggles against Japanese invaders in China until World War II ended. Taiwan was excluded from many international organisations including United Nations as its government was not recognised by China.
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