Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) representative to the US Joseph Wu says that the results in the recent local elections were not a vote against President Ma Ying-jeou’s China policy. The ruling Kuomintang only won 6 out of the 22 cities and counties in the elections, while the DPP won 13 seats.
Wu was speaking at a press conference at the US Congress on Tuesday.
He said many western media have focused on what the election results mean for cross-strait relations. But Wu explained that these were local elections that did not focus on cross-strait policies. Ma’s administration has favored building closer economic ties with China while the DPP has been wary of the political implications of close ties with China.
When asked about the DPP’s China policy, Wu explained that the DPP is open to increasing exchanges and dialogue with China. But he said building trust between the two sides would take time. He also said that building stable cross-strait ties is not only Taiwan’s responsibility. Wu said that if China continues to set preconditions that Taiwan cannot accept, peaceful and stable ties will be more difficult.
Wu will be meeting with US officials to explain Taiwan’s economic and political policies after the elections. He said DPP Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen will not be traveling to the US as some media reports have said.