According to the Central Election Commission, with all the votes tallied, the Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou (*1950) of the ruling Kuomintang Party (KMT) has won a second mandate with 51.6%. Tsai Ing-wen of the oppositional Democratic Progressive Party (DDP) finished second with 45.6%.
President Ma Ying-jeou had pledged to improve relations with Communist mainland China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province.
For once, Communist China was cautious ahead of the Taiwanese presidential election. China did not try to interfere in the electoral process by holding intimidating maneuvers or by issuing menacing statements, which in some cases ended up to be counterproductive. The prudent strategy paid off. The China-friendly and incumbent Ma won.
The leading Taiwanese business executives were in favor of Ma’s policy. Especially the 2010 Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China (ECFA) boosted investment on the island and on the mainland as well as trade between the two countries. The deal included tariff concessions on 539 Taiwanese and 267 Chinese products. Both countries opened markets in a series of service sectors including banking, securities, insurance and accounting.
For some time, the leader of Taiwan’s third party, James Soong of the People First Party (PFP), seemed to be able to become the kingmaker. But instead of garnering some 10% of the vote, he ended up with a meager 2.8%.
Taiwan’s situation is tricky. Relaxed relations with the mainland benefit both China and Taiwan economically. But the stronger the mainland get’s, the weaker the island’s position seems to be. Despite the “1992-Consensus” between China and Taiwan regarding the One-China principle, Communist China still does not rule out the use of force to “reunite” the mainland and the island. Communist China insists on its One-China policy, which is different form the One-China principle, because it means that countries establishing official relations with the People’s Republic of China (PRC aka Communist China) must break relations with the Republic of China (ROC aka Taiwan).
De facto, Taiwan has been an independent country for decades. As long as Taiwan has the backing of the United States, it will be able to maintain its independence. The more dependent the US become from its creditor China, the weaker the American security umbrella seems to be.
Chinese-Taiwanese relations were particularly strained during Chen Shui-Bian’s (DDP) eight years in power. Chen Shui-bian currently sits in jail on corruption charges. With Ma’s electoral win in 2008, China and Taiwan signed a series of agreements establishing direct air, shipping and postal links for the first time since 1949, the year the Communists managed to get the upper hand in China’s civil war, which ended with the KMT army retreating to the island of Taiwan.
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Photo of the Office of the President of the Republic of China / Taiwan, ROC. Wikimedia Commons.
Article added on January 14, 2012 at 21:08 Swiss time.
