Unofficial results show Dr Tsai winning 56.1 per cent of the vote, ahead of the 31 per cent won by KMT’s Eric Chu and the 12.9 per cent garnered by People’s First Party’s James Soong.
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She returned to Taiwan around the mid-1980s to spend the next decade and a half negotiating for the island’s entry into the World Trade Organisation – a role that pitted her brains against worldwide experts as Taiwan, recognised as a country by only a handful of others, fought for its diplomatic life. The sides could be in for a lengthy wait as China assesses whether it feels it can trust Tsai.
The leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has become Taiwan’s first-ever female president. The Nationalists had to go.
Even Tsai has not dared to publicly deny the 1992 Consensus reached between the two sides which acknowleges that the Chinese mainland and Taiwan belong to one China.
The reasons for the massive win were many.
Since her campaign pledges apparently were overwhelmingly supported by Taiwanese voters, Beijing must fully take into account their sentiments in formulating policy toward Taipei.
Mr Chu conceded defeat and announced his resignation as party chairman at 7pm, when counting was barely halfway through.
China had largely declined to comment on the polls ahead of the vote.
Yet, despite more than 20 deals and a tourist boom, closer ties have exacerbated fears that China is eroding Taiwan’s sovereignty by making it economically dependent.
Taiwan is officially known as Republic of China.
“We want to once again tell the worldwide community: the values of democracy are already deeply in the blood of the people of Taiwan”, Tsai said.
“When you do as well, as decisively as the DPP has done, there are no excuses” for failure, Diamond said.
That could anger Beijing, which views Taiwan as an integral part of its territory that is to be taken by force if necessary.
The US State Department said it looked forward to working with Tsai. Voting began Saturday in Taiwan’s presidential election in which the i…
The result could also been seen as a referendum on Taiwan’s relationship with its cross-strait neighbor China, which was strengthened significantly under Ma.
The stakes are high, with hundreds of Chinese missiles trained on the island and the United States having undertaken commitments regarding Taiwan’s defense. She appears in the video reading her apology off a sheet of paper, leading many to speculate that her Korean management company JYP Entertainment had coerced her to appease mainland Chinese fans, who represent a lucrative market.
Far less likely is that it would resort to military intimidation despite its threat to invade if Taiwan opts for a formal declaration of independence.
She lost a presidential bid in 2012 but has subsequently led the party to regional election victories.
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“I don’t think Beijing will react quickly, but it means more trouble”.
