Taiwan Voters Back Ruling Party in Referendum, Removing Obstacle to U.S. Trade Deal

TAIPEI—Taiwan’s ruling party claimed a decisive victory in a carefully watched referendum vote, in a setback for Beijing that gets rid of a key obstacle to a U.S. trade offer with the democratically governed island.

Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Celebration, which supports closer ties with Washington at the expenditure of Beijing, prevailed on all 4 questions place to voters on Saturday. Most likely most notably, Taiwan voters turned down a proposal that would have banned imports of pork that contains trace quantities of the additive ractopamine—a key obstacle to a totally free-trade agreement with the U.S.