President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan called on Saturday for domestic and international support of the island’s de facto independence, days after China’s leader, Xi Jinping, warned that unification with China was inevitable.

Taiwan's pro-independence leader, Tsai Ing-wen, has just over a year to win back public support if she wants to avoid going down in history as the island's first one-term president.

As Taiwanese voters head to the polls to elect city mayors and city and village leaders on Saturday, they will also be voting on 10 referendums that could set the tone for key social issues including marriage equality and changing the country's name for the Olympics.

Taiwan’s pro-independence leader, Tsai Ing-wen, has just over a year to win back public support if she wants to avoid going down in history as the island’s first one-term president.

Taiwanese voters will determine the outcome of 10 referendums Nov. 24 as well as local elections. This will not be the first time this autonomous island has held referendums, although none succeeded in the past.

In 1992, there was a historical meeting in Hong Kong between both sides of the Taiwan Strait. That meeting later gave birth to the term “1992 Consensus.” Although Taiwan and China have different understandings as to what that term entails, the Consensus, first articulated in 2000 by Su Chi, former head of the National Security Council in Ma Ying-jeou’s administration, has become a central pillar in maintaining the stability of cross-strait relations since Ma took office in 2008. On November 7, 2018, Ma again openly promoted the 1992 Consensus in a speech.

Activists in Taiwan are planning a series of mass protest rallies in the coming weeks, as opposition towards President Tsai Ing-wen builds over fears that her government will back down from plans to legalise same-sex marriage.