TAIPEI—Taiwan’s ruling party claimed a decisive victory in a closely watched referendum vote, in a setback for Beijing that removes a key obstacle to a U.S. trade deal with the democratically governed island.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which supports closer ties with Washington at the expense of Beijing, prevailed on all four questions put to voters on Saturday. Perhaps most notably, Taiwan voters rejected a proposal that would have banned imports of pork containing trace amounts of the additive ractopamine—a key obstacle to a free-trade agreement with the U.S.
