Taiwanese voters aligned with the position of President Tsai Ing-wen’s government on four issues in a weekend referendum, a win for the leader ahead of elections next year.
More than 50% of voters said "no” to reimposing a ban on imports of pork containing trace amounts of ractopamine, a feed additive used by many U.S. producers.
A "yes” result would have presented Tsai with the dilemma of conforming to the people’s will and potentially upset Taiwan’s most important political and military backer, or keep the doors open to U.S. pork and risk a domestic political backlash less than a year before key regional elections. Maintaining Washington’s support is particularly important as Beijing ramps up a pressure campaign on the democratically ruled island that the Communist Party considers a breakaway territory despite never having ruled it.