By: Stephen Chen

On November 24th, Tsai Ing-wen quit her job as head of the governing Democratic Progressive Party after losing local elections. Some people were devastated, but many others celebrated her decision, especially the members of Kuomintang, the biggest rival of her party. But what are the causes and effects of this shocking event?

The reasons behind Ing-wen’s choice are unknown, so many theories are being espoused.

Here are some believable viewpoints. First, as the most important person in Democratic Progressive Party, there are many challenges and risks for Ing-wen to solve. From 2000 to 2022, Tsai became the head of the party three times after quitting each time previously. As you can see, Tsai is very important for her party in some ways, or she wouldn’t always appear if the party needs her. To many, this seems like a good way to prepare for the upcoming presidential election in two years. This behaviour would appease supporters to continue their supports. Despite this preparation, her party suffered a catastrophic loss in Taiwan. They only won 5 of the 22 districts. For Tsai, it was a total failure.

Taiwan’s politics are intricitatly tied up with the countries complex relationship with the Chinese mainland. Because of the war between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang, Kuomintang moved to Taiwan and became the leader of Taiwan. Even to this day, the Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang do not recognize Taiwan as belonging to China. However, the Chinese mainland really hopes that they can return to the motherland.

Most people in Taiwan disagree with this viewpoint, including Tsai Ing-wen. Nowadays, the mass of Taiwan showed their worry about hidden danger of war from Chinese mainland. The mainland would like to use force to hold back Taiwan. This might also be a main reason for her choice to quit.