In a tension-laden election, Ms. Tsai came out the victor
Taipei: An election that took Taiwan by storm considering its importance has come to a end, with Ms. Tsai Ing-wen winning the office. The first female to have done so in the entirety of Taiwan’s history, the country prepares to welcome its first female President to its topmost echelon of political power. A leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that advocates independence from China, Ms. Tsai (59), has assured that she will maintain the current bilateral relations with China and has appealed for China to reciprocate.
In her victory address, she encouraged Beijing’s respect for Taiwan’s democracy and a promise to avoid unnecessary provocations. China, a country that has been in dispute with Taiwan for several decades because of its consideration of Taiwan as a breakaway island state, has also, in the past, threatened the island of being annexed by force if it failed to agree. Being the prime agenda on Ms.Tsai’s governance plan, she has urged a ‘new era’ in Taiwan, that would survive on the DPP’s co-operation with other Taiwanese political parties and the people’s will.
“I also want to emphasise that both sides of the Taiwanese Strait have a responsibility to find mutually acceptable means of interaction that are based on dignity and reciprocity.We must ensure that no provocations or accidents take place…any forms of suppression will harm the stability of cross-strait relations,” said the Taiwanese premier.
Although this victory comes soon after the bilateral talks between the two nations in November last year, the buckling economy of Taiwan under the Kuomintang (KMT) is being cited as one of the main reasons for the fall of a party that has been in office for a majority of the last 70 years. Ms. Tsai was crowned the Chairwoman of the DPP in 2008, after which she went on to secure several 
regional victories for the party, despite losing a Presidential race in 2012.
Ms. Tsai was congratulated by the opposite candidate, Mr. Eric Chua (54) of the KMT, who also subsequently announced his resignation as the head of KMT. The former President, Mr. Ma Ying-jeou also put in his papers. Mr. Eric Chua, Mayor of Taipei City and a former accounting professor, rose to be the KMT’s head in October last year. He was a public favourite amongst political figures but his efforts to alter the mass distress over Taiwan’s friendly relations with China went in vain. A mass demonstration was also performed by thousands of students in 2014, wherein the Parliament was occupied by them in a movement known as the ‘Sunflower Movement’. They demanded for government transparency in its trade and economic agreements with China, in their bid to display their anti-China sentiments.
Ms. Tsai graciously thanked the USA and Japan for their support in her address. As per critics’ opinions, Ms. Tsai’s victory is not only demonstrative of the public displeasure over the KMT’s inability to revive a dry economy and improve employment opportunities, it is also a clear signal to the East Asian behemoth that poses as a constant security threat to Taiwan, while being its biggest trade partner. It shows that even though Taipei aims to maintain good relations with China, it cannot be at the cost of its own sovereignty, which makes it harder for Ms. Tsai to work with Beijing. Technically, Taiwan has been independent ever since China’s Civil War in 1949, when the Nationalist government came to power after fleeing to the island. Yet, it has been in a constant state of economic dependence on China.
Only the socond victory after Mr. Chen Shui-bian rule between 2000-2008 for the DPP (when Taiwan- China frictions increased), it must make sure to deliver.
Source: BBC
