He joined the Taiwan Affairs Office, which is in charge of policy toward the island and relations with it, in 2013, having previously spent his entire working career with the Fujian government, according to his official biography.
Advertisement
Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female president-elect, could be taking an active approach to recovering the assets of the Kuomintang party, her political rival.
Tsai’s Democratic People’s Party believes Taiwan is a sovereign, independent country but does not want to anger China by making any formal declaration of independence. Beijing needs to keep up its dialogue with Taiwan under Tsai’s leadership and seek to build a new, mutually acceptable foundation for cross-strait relations. “We sincerely urge Your Excellency to consider the issue of Tibet as one of the core issues of new government in Taiwan under your leadership”, he added.
After a smooth, well-run campaign, Tsai won 56 percent of the vote, easily besting her nearest rival, the KMT’s Eric Chu, who took 31 percent of the 12 million ballots cast.
At a post-election news conference, Tsai underscored Taiwan’s commitment to democracy, calling it a value “deeply ingrained in the Taiwanese people”.
No. The New Power Party, which consists of an eclectic mix of civic activists, managed to secure five seats in parliament – remarkable, as they were established only a year ago in the wake of the Sunflower Movement protests that gripped Taiwan in March 2014, and have become Taiwan’s third-most-popular party. Her election, though long expected given the unpopularity of the current, pro-China ruling party, has still seemed to rankle in mainland China, particularly the online spaces where grassroots nationalism flourishes.
A deputy head of the Chinese Cabinet’s Taiwan Affairs Office has been placed under investigation for apparent corruption amid renewed scrutiny of Beijing’s policies toward the island following its election of a new independence-leaning president. “After all, it’s both sides’ responsibility to maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait”.
Access to Facebook and most major Western social media sites is banned in mainland China, but technically savvy users often circumvent the restrictions – an irony not lost on Taiwanese Facebook posters, who sarcastically congratulated the mainland critics on bypassing their censors.
The sides have agreed since 1992 on a “one China” policy, in which both governments claim sovereignty over mainland China and Taiwan, but crucially neither recognizes the other’s legitimacy. As for China, it needs to wake up to the fact that Taiwan’s youth do not see themselves as Chinese but as Taiwanese and that its sabre-rattling only deepens their desperation for distance from China. Opposition parties were only allowed in 1987 when martial law was lifted, and it was not until 2000 that the opposition DPP won the presidency for the first time. “There will be substantial consultations with all sides”. Do you have a say in the worldwide community? The vote also underscored that well-run competitive elections can be a force for peaceful change and political stability in East Asia.
Advertisement
She also did not reply to questions regarding whether she would ask People First Party Chairman James Soong to be premier, a suggestion made by former Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Chin-jun. China is Taiwan’s biggest export market, accounting for 25% of products shipped. “Taiwanese should be very proud”.
