TAIWAN'S ruling Kuomintang suffered a shock defeat at the hands of its main opposition yesterday in key elections for city and county chiefs - a surprise that could rattle ties with Beijing.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won 12 of the 23 contested posts and beat the Nationalists in the overall vote count for the first time ever, serving notice on the KMT that their 50 years in power may be nearing an end.
President Lee Teng-hui and the KMT were dealt a devastating blow as their share of local leadership seats fell from 15 to eight.
The DPP share of the vote was 43.32 per cent, up from 41.2 per cent in 1993, while the ruling party's vote dropped from 47.5 per cent to 42.12 per cent.
Three seats were won by independents, including one by a renegade KMT politician and one by a DPP breakaway.
Last night, DPP leaders - who had expected to win no more than 10 positions - said they were confident of becoming the island's ruling party by scoring 'even bigger triumphs' at legislative elections in 1998 and presidential polls in 2000.
