Taiwan votes for new president, expected to be female

PanARMENIAN.Net - Millions of voters in Taiwan went to the polls Saturday, Jan 16, in an election that was expected to make Tsai Ing-wen their first female president and give her party, which is skeptical of close ties with China, a strong showing in the legislature, the New York Times reports.

The campaign has largely pivoted on economic issues, as growth in Taiwan has slowed dramatically over the past year. Wages have stagnated and housing prices in major cities like Taipei have remained out of the reach of many people.

Voters have also soured on the departing president, Ma Ying-jeou, and his policy of pursuing a closer relationship with China, Taiwan’s giant neighbor, which considers the self-governed island to be a part of its territory with which it must eventually be united.

Tsai, who has consistently held a wide lead in opinion polls, would be only the second president not to belong to the Kuomintang, the party that ruled Taiwan as an authoritarian state until democratic reforms began in the late 1980s.

Her Democratic Progressive Party, known as the D.P.P., traditionally supports Taiwan’s formal independence. The tenure of the previous D.P.P. president, Chen Shui-bian, who led Taiwan from 2000 to 2008, saw increased tension with China and concern that it would use military force against the island.

Analysts expect Tsai to take a more cautious approach to China than did President Ma, who pushed through more than 20 agreements between the two sides. But she also wants to keep the cross-strait relationship stable, said Shelley Rigger, a professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College in North Carolina.