Taipei (dpa) – The leader of Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Tsai Ing-wen, on Saturday won the island nation’s presidential election, after the ruling party’s candidate conceded defeat.
Pro-independence candidate Tsai was leading with more than 50 per cent of the vote ahead of Chu Li-lun of the ruling Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Tsai, a law professor, is set to become the first female president of Taiwan. Her pro-independence position is likely to cause tensions in relations with Beijing, as the Communist Party in China consider Taiwan as a separatist province and have threatened its recapture.
Tsai had been heavily favoured to succeed outgoing President Ma Ying-jeou, whose two terms have been characterized as “China-friendly.”
The KMT’s Chu meanwhile announced he was stepping down from the party leadership.
Speaking to supporters from a platform in front of his party’s Taipei City headquarters in the evening, Chu expressed his congratulations to Tsai and said he would resign from the KMT chairmanship with immediate effect.
The New Taipei City mayor said he would take responsibility for disappointing his supporters. His party’s “re-examination was not deep enough,” Chu said.
“We have lost governorship of the central government and also control over the national legislature,” Chu said, adding: “This is a huge change for the KMT.”
Thousands of opposition supporters exploded firecrackers and cheered loudly as reports of an expanding lead by Tsai were relayed by DPP spokesman at a rally in front of their campaign headquarters in Taipei.
Tsai was due to address journalists at 8:00pm local time.
The words “We are Taiwanese!” appeared on a screen behind the platform – in apparent reference to a 16-year-old Taiwanese singer who had been forced to declare she was “proud to be Chinese” on a Youtube video released on Friday evening.
As of 7:35pm local time, Tsai (pic) had won 6.54 million votes or 57.3 percent of votes counted, according to reports by Formosa Television (FTV), compared to 3.23 million for Chu and 1.25 million for People First Party Chairman James Soong.
However, the results are yet to be confirmed by the Central Election Commission.
Tsai stands a good chance of implementing political, economic and social reforms as her DPP also appeared set to win an unprecedented majority in Taiwan’s national legislature.
The DPP was holding a solid lead in proportional voting for a long party list and appeared to be leading in most constituency races.
DPP Taichung City Mayor Lin Chia-lung told supporters that Tsai’s victory and the DPP’s unprecedented capture of a legislative majority “will allow us to implement the reforms we have been waiting to carry out for over 20 years.”
Thanks to the defeat of the KMT, the DPP would now be able to hold a referendum to free itself “from the KMT-built birdcage and realize the goal of a nuclear-power-free homeland by 2025,” Lin said.
The KMT has controlled Taiwan’s national legislature since 1945 and even dominated during the previous eight-year DPP government under former president Chen Shui-bian between 2000 and 2008.
