Taiwan elects first female president in significant victory

• Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-wen became the nation’s first woman elected to the executive office after securing just over 56% of the vote.
• The DPP unseated the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the 8-year incumbent party, as questions about the country’s relationship to China, which doesn’t recognize its sovereignty, grow.
• Analysts view Tsai’s election as an attempt by voters to turn around the country’s struggling economy and reexamine the last administration’s pro-China policies, concerning China’s political leaders.

“The results today tell me that the people want to see a government more willing to listen to the people, a government that is more transparent and accountable, and a government that is more capable of leading us past our current challenges and taking care of those in need.”

Read more:
“Madam President” (The Taipei Times)
“Taiwan Opposition Wins Presidency, Parliament in Rout of Ruling KMT” (Radio Free Asia)
“Taiwan elects first female president” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: CNA, via The Taipei Times)