The Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen is poised to become the self-governing island’s first female president, returning the main opposition party to power after eight years under Nationalist President Ma Ying-jeou, who is constitutionally barred from another term.
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The nationalistic Global Times tabloid, in an op-ed yesterday, said the strong showing by the DPP in both presidential and parliamentary elections was a vote for party leader Tsai Ing-wen, and not for an independence push. Tsai’s victory and her DPP’s sweep of a majority in the Legislative Yuan, the first since the legislature’s seats were opened for direct elections in 1992, may signal Taiwanese voters’ repudiation of Ma’s China-friendly policies.
Making Tsai’s task easier, her Democratic Progressive Party won 68 seats in the 113-seat national legislature that has been traditionally dominated by the Nationalists, who took home 36 with the remainder going to independents and smaller parties.
Tsai had about 60 percent of votes while Nationalist Eric Chu had about 30 percent, with about half of votes counted. About 1 million employees of Taiwanese businesses and their relatives are estimated to stay in mainland China. He resigned as party chairman immediately after Saturday’s defeat. Mainland China’s government sees Taiwan as a province with no right to a national flag, and has threatened war if it declares formal independence.
Burns said the United States looks forward to a smooth transition to the new administration and hopes for further cooperation and exchanges with the new administration.
“The mainland has patience when it comes to the Taiwan issue, but it also has principles and a bottom line”.
“There is only one China in the world, the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one China and China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will not brook being broken up”, the ministry said. But the key difference between them is not ideological but policy-based: to what extent should Taiwan play along with the Chinese government’s claim that Taiwan is a part of China?
“I believe everyone feels hurt and angry to see that Chou was forced to do what she was made to do”, Tsai said, according to a South China Morning Post report.
“Tsai was saying that she plans to promote stability in cross-strait relations but only if Beijing refrains from coercive threats or efforts to tighten the noose on Taiwan diplomatically”, said John Ciorciari, political science professor at the University of MI.
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Of course it’s not just China and Taiwan that need to deal with the messy question of Taiwan’s status. Many analysts criticize that Taiwan’s economy increasingly depends on China, yet only a few are benefiting from it.
