After vote, China tells Taiwan to abandon independence “hallucination”

Tsai ling-wen’s pre-approved victory is not the only iconic moment of Taiwan’s election.

Tsai is not to be dismissed lightly by either Beijing or Washington.

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.

The passage of a supervisory bill on cross-Strait exchanges, initiated in 2014 after large protests over a stalled trade pact with China, would be a legislative priority when the new parliamentary session begins in February, Tsai was quoted as saying in an interview with a Taiwanese magazine on Monday.

“This particular incident will serve as a constant reminder to me about the importance of our country’s strength and unity to those outside our borders”, she said.

Chu was a late entry in the race after the party ditched its original candidate, Hung Hsiu-chu, whose abrasive style was seen as alienating voters. “If the Nationalist Party continues to deepen ties with mainland China, our economy will be incorporated into the mainland”. The video message was posted on Friday, the day before the election. In this sense, Taiwanese nationalism will not wane but only grow stronger. According to a survey by the island’s National Chengchi University, reported in July past year, a record 59% responded that they were Taiwanese, not Chinese, comparing to a small portion of 3.3% who said they were Chinese.

Chinese censors have long deleted critical messages from the Internet.

Because of a ban on election advertising in public spaces such as roads, bridges and parks, the atmosphere was more muted than usual, but outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in downtown Taipei, more than 20,000 people gathered to celebrate, chanting “We are making history”.

Tokyo hailed her achievement in a statement which also paid tribute to the island’s democracy. If the DPP did push for independence, regional tensions would escalate swiftly. Describing Singapore as “a longstanding friend” of Taiwan, MFA in its statement said that it “looks forward to maintaining our close relations and cooperation with Taiwan based on our consistent “One China” policy”.

She asked China to respect the country’s democracy as she vowed to lead a “new era” in Taiwan.

Her DPP has raised the island’s independence as one of its principles.

At the present moment, no one can credibly predict how the relations between Taiwan and China will develop. Furthermore, many people believe that the rising power of females is undeniable and can not be underestimated; many supporters regard Tsai as the most suitable person for negotiating with China.