• Beijing’s pressure on Taipei gave the Democratic Progressive Party a boost in the polls, on its way to a landslide victory over the Kuomintang
• The vote also reflects the people’s views on the relationships between Washington, Beijing and Taipei under the presidencies of Trump, Xi and Tsai

South China Morning Post
Date: 19 Jan, 2020
By: Cary Huang

When it comes to crucial elections for the highest office, there is no place in the world where outside factors take precedence over local issues – other than in Taiwan

.Mainland China’s increasingly hawkish attitude towards the island, Hong Kong’s anti-Beijing protests, and Washington’s support of the democratic aspirations in those two Chinese communities have all contributed to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen

 and her ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) landslide victory in the just-concluded presidential and legislative elections.In the self-ruled island’s presidential race on January 11, Tsai won a record 8.2 million votes, or 57 per cent of the total, against 5.5 million votes (38 per cent) for her main opponent, Han Kuo-yu from the Kuomintang    [FULL  STORY]