Pro-Independence party candidate claims win in Taiwan vote

#TaiwanElection: It has been three hours since voting began in Taiwan.

Polls close at 4:00 pm (0800 GMT), with results announced Saturday night.

His presidency was marked by drama – he survived an election eve shooting to narrowly win a second term in 2004, with opponents accusing him of staging the attack to gain last-minute support. Taiwan will hold its presidential election on January 16, 2016.

“We want to congratulate the DPP’s victory, this is the Taiwan people’s mandate”, Chu said.

Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday (Jan 16) declared victory in Taiwan’s general election to become the island’s first female President. Unlike Chen, who managed only a plurality to eke out a victory in 2000, Tsai was elected by a convincing margin that will give her a clear mandate going forward. “We are only one step away from a new era”. She has promised to maintain the status quo toward China, yet has never expressed acceptance of the “1992 Consensus”, a document that views Taiwan and China as one country.

Anita Lin, 37, said she was “thrilled”. China has not renounced the use of force to ensure eventual unification with the island.

That would be the biggest ever win for any president in Taiwan – the previous record was 58.45% for current KMT president Ma Ying-jeou in 2008. She had about 60 percent of the votes so far with counting about half complete Saturday evening.

The new legislature will be seated next month, and Tsai will be inaugurated later.

Voting has just wrapped up in Taiwan in parliamentary and presidential elections with the island’s relationship with China a key issue.

M: After a teenage Taiwanese K-pop star was forced to apologise for waving the island’s, Tsai said: “Holding the flag is a reflection of our national identity and should be respected”. Meanwhile, the mood remains downbeat at KMT headquarters after Chu’s concession speech. KMT must deeply reflect and respond to the voters.

“Economic progress is related closely to our leadership, like land reform and housing prices. Do you really think that younger people can afford to buy a home?” “Our lives have been gloomy for the past eight years”. Her party suggested in May that Taiwan’s laws change to raise wages and cut work weeks from 84 per two weeks to 40 in one.

She added, however, that she would defend Taiwan’s interests and its sovereignty.

The United States has expressed concerns about the danger of worsening China-Taiwan ties, at a time when China’s navy is increasingly flexing its muscles in the South China and East China Seas and expanding territorial claims.

“It is important people make a wise decision tomorrow”, the KMT’s Chu told reporters Friday.

Tsai has refused to endorse the principle that Taiwan and China are parts of a single nation to be unified eventually.

Beijing has made that its baseline for continuing negotiations that have produced a series of pacts on trade, transport and exchanges.

Taiwan and China split following a civil war in 1949.

Taiwan has gone to the polls in elections which could prove crucial to its future relations with China.

“As long as Tsai doesn’t provoke the other side, it’s OK”, said former newspaper distribution agent Lenex Chang, who attended Tsai’s rally. But Beijing still regards it as a breakaway province that will someday be unified with the mainland.