Taiwan leader wins election for new term

TAIPEI, Sunday

Taiwan’s Beijing-friendly leader Ma Ying-jeou secured a second four-year term as president on Sunday, promising better ties with China after an election watched intently by the United States.

The vote was seen as a signal of cautious support for 61-year-old Ma’s policies, which in his first term led to the most dramatic thaw in the island’s ties with China since the two sides split more than six decades ago.

“We’ve won,” a jubilant Mr Ma told crowds of supporters gathered at his campaign headquarters in central Taipei.

“In the next four years, ties with China will be more harmonious and there will be more mutual trust and the chance of conflict is slimmer.”

China’s official Xinhua news agency said Mr Ma’s victory could offer a “new opportunity” to improve relations and showed the Taiwanese people had backed peaceful development of ties with the mainland.

The official final tally from the Central Election Commission showed Ma won 51.6 per cent of the vote, with his main challenger Tsai Ing-wen on 45.6 per cent.

Ms Tsai, a 55-year-old China-sceptic, conceded defeat after her disappointing showing and announced she would step down as chairwoman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

“We accept the Taiwan people’s decision and congratulate President Ma,” she told her party faithful.

“We want to give our deepest apology to our supporters for our defeat.”

Mr George Tsai, a political scientist at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said the result was a vote of confidence in Ma, who raised exchanges with China to unprecedented levels and introduced a sweeping trade pact.

“The outcome shows that voters generally approve of Ma’s policies promoting ties and reducing tensions with China,” he said.

“He has a new mandate although it’s an open question how fast and how far he can go in his second term.”

By contrast, a win for Ms Tsai could have ushered in a period of uncertainty in ties with China, as her DPP has traditionally favoured distancing the island from the mainland.