Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is at pains to stress its election will not cause a return to tensions.
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Pledging to maintain the “status quo of peace and stability” with China during her acceptance speech, Tsai vowed to “correct the mistakes of the past” but warned, “The challenges that Taiwan faces will not disappear in one day”.
China sees the island as a breakaway province – which it has threatened to take back by force if necessary.
She addressed the issue of China nearly immediately upon claiming victory, saying she would strive to maintain the peace, but added she would defend Taiwan’s interests and its sovereignty.
Tsai now finds herself in one of Asia’s most delicate and challenging positions, balancing the democratic will of the Taiwanese people and the aspirations of mainland China, which makes no secret of its desire to absorb Taiwan.
The US also thanks President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for his efforts to develop a strong partnership with the US and applauds him for the concrete steps he has taken to improve cross-strait ties in recent years, Kirby said in the statement.
Taiwan is only officially recognised by 22 countries, with even the U.S. having unofficial ties after establishing diplomatic relations with Beijing in 1979.
Ms Tsai had a commanding lead in the vote count when Eric Chu of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) admitted defeat.
When searching for “Tsai Ing-Wen” or “elections in Taiwan” in the Chinese messaging service a notification appeared stating that results of the query could not be shown due to current laws.
Both Taiwan (Republic of China) and China (People’s Republic of China) agreed on a “one China” policy since 1992 under which they accepted sovereignty over China and Taiwan.
Beijing’s Communist leaders are wary of Ms Tsai and the DPP because of its promotion of a separate Taiwanese identity and its pro-independence sympathies.
Tsai will be Taiwan’s first female president and only the second DPP president, following Chen Shui-bian’s 2000-2008 tenure.
Support for the DPP has swelled since 2014, when hundreds of students occupied Taiwan’s parliament for weeks protesting against a China trade bill in the largest display of anti-China sentiment the island had seen in years.
Taiwan is a self-ruling democracy since splitting with China in 1949 after a civil war on the mainland, but has never formally declared independence.
At stake are relations with an ascendant and increasingly assertive China under President Xi Jinping.
She became chairwoman of the DPP in 2008, after it saw a string of corruption scandals.
“I have promised on many occasions that I will build a consistent, predictable and sustainable cross-strait relationship”, she said. Soong’s People First Party was the top performing third party, with 6.5 percent of votes, closely followed by the New Power Party at 6.1 percent.
Mr Chu conceded defeat and announced his resignation as party chairman at 7pm, when counting was barely halfway through.
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The KMT is at risk of losing its majority in the legislature for the first time in history.
