That would be the biggest ever win for any president in Taiwan – the previous record was 58.45 percent for current KMT president Ma Ying-jeou in 2008.
Advertisement
The real significance of this victory may yet lie in the impact it has on self-ruled Taiwan’s relationship with mainland China: the DPP is the main pro-independence party.
Even though the DPP’s presidential candidate has said she will not upset the status quo, a new party in power will inject uncertainty not just between the neighbors, but also into Taiwan’s export-reliant economy.
She had a commanding lead in the vote count when Eric Chu of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) admitted defeat.
“I voted for DPP, because it’s very critical time for the Taiwan people. The new president would take us one step forward”. “We are a democratic county, and it’s China who should learn from us”, said a 70-year-old farmer who only gave his surname Chen, queuing at a voting station in rural Yilan, a county east of the capital.
One small group held up a banner saying: “Taiwan is not part of China”.
China sees the island as a breakaway province – which it has threatened to take back by force if necessary.
Analysts also agree there will not be any immediate backlash from China, as alienating Taiwan would play against Beijing’s ultimate aim of reunification.
Advertisement
As for China, although searches for Tsai’s name and “Taiwan elections” were blocked on the Twitter-like service Weibo Saturday evening, the state news agency Xinhua insisted Beijing would not interfere in Taiwan’s election and would focus instead on cross-strait relations. She is expected to speak within the hour.
