Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to quit as Kuomintang chief

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou has said he will resign as chairman of the ruling party, after it suffered a crushing defeat in local elections.

At the weekend, the pro-Beijing Kuomintang (KMT) lost more than half of the mayoral offices it had held, including the capital Taipei.

In a statement, Mr Ma said he holds himself responsible for the defeat.

Prime Minister Jiang Yi-huah and the entire cabinet have already resigned over the election results.

"As the chairman, Ying-jeou is willing to take the biggest responsibility," a KMT statement said.

"I'll step down tomorrow, but for the KMT, this will not be an ending. It will be a new beginning," it quoted Mr Ma as saying.

Analysis: Cindy Sui, BBC News, Taipei

Many voters no longer feel loyalty toward one party or the other.

In the past, long-time Taiwanese, whose ancestors came to Taiwan centuries ago, favoured the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Those whose families fled here from China at the end of the civil war supported the KMT, but that is less the case now.

Analysts believe this is a positive step in the development of Taiwan's young and hard-won democracy.

Taiwan ruling party struggles after poll defeat

The main opposition DPP won 13 seats out of the island's 22 biggest cities.

The election was widely seen as a rejection of the KMT's push for closer ties with Beijing.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war in 1949, with China seeing Taiwan as a renegade province.