High-profile Taiwan mayor loses recall vote in blow to opposition (update)

TAIPEI: A high-profile mayor from Taiwan's main opposition party lost an acrimonious recall vote on Saturday (June 6), auguring new problems for the party that is already reeling from losing January elections on the back of strong anti-China sentiment.

The Kuomintang (KMT) was badly beaten in January's presidential and parliamentary polls. Since then, under a youthful new leader, Johnny Chiang, the party has tried to rethink its unpopular policy of seeking closer ties with China, which claims Taiwan as its sacred territory.