Voting began Saturday in Taiwan’s presidential election in which the isl…
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In a national election that will be seen as expressing the Taiwan people’s dissatisfaction with its relationship with mainland China, Democratic Progessive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen has become the island’s first female president, and the highest-ranking elected female official in the Chinese-speaking world.
Tsai mostly steered aways from talking about China-Taiwan relations during her campaign but her DPP party has traditionally pushed for formal independence from China, shunning the current de facto independence. China must respond appropriately.
“The government leaned too easily on China”. She added, “I also want to emphasize that both sides of the strait have a responsibility to find mutually acceptable means of interaction that are based on dignity and reciprocity”.
Still, underscoring investor worries about uncertainty following her possible victory, on Friday the Taiwan dollar ended lower against the United States dollar in its weakest closing since April 2009.
Her remorseful video went viral within hours, with Tsai, her defeated KMT opponent Eric Chu, and outgoing president Ma all leaping to her defence and demanding answers over her treatment. Illustrating the extent of their defeat, the Nationalists had won 64 seats four years ago.
The new legislature will be seated next month, and Tsai will be inaugurated later.
The White House said on Saturday it congratulated Tsai and said the United States maintained a “profound interest” in peace between Taiwan and China. John Kirby, State Department’s spokesman said in a statement. “As long as I am president, I will do my best to have none of my people apologise for their identity”, she said.
Support for the DPP has swelled since 2014, when hundreds of students occupied Taiwan’s parliament for weeks in protests against trade pacts negotiated with China in the largest display of anti-China sentiment the island had seen in years.
“We failed”, Chu told a thin crowd of supporters at their headquarters.
“On important issues of principle like protecting the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, our will is as hard as rock”, it said.
“Economic progress is related closely to our leadership, like land reform and housing prices. Do you really think that younger people can afford to buy a home?”
Artists can not afford to upset China’s ruling Communist Party or risk being shut out of its massive market.
She has her work cut out – spur the struggling economy of Taiwan and reach out to China for better relations with them.
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Tsai also reaffirmed Taiwan’s sovereignty claim over East China Sea islands also claimed by China but controlled by Japan. Referring to this case, Tsai said it had “shaken the Taiwanese society”. In the latest cross-strait drama, the plight of a teenage Taiwanese K-pop star dominated local news coverage, with presidential candidates drawn into the row.
