Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Chen-shen Yen, NCCU
With the ruling party returned to power after Taiwan’s recent presidential election, both Beijing and Washington have breathed a sigh of relief.
Peace across the Taiwan Strait appears to have been preserved for at least another four years. Read more…
Author: Sheryn Lee, ANU
On 14 January, Taiwan’s incumbent president, Ma Ying-jeou, won a second term in office, obtaining 51.6 per cent of the popular vote while Tsai Ing-wen, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opponent, managed 45.6 per cent.
Ma’s party, the Kuomintang (KMT), thus retained control of the Legislative Yuan, securing 64 of the 113 seats. Read more…
Author: Malcolm Cook, Flinders University
Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou and the Kuomintang (KMT) won a double victory at the 14 January elections. Ma was re-elected — albeit with a much smaller margin — and the KMT maintained a reduced majority in the Legislative Yuan.
Author: Nitin Pai, Takshashila Institution
Taiwan’s presidential elections, since they first started in 1996, have in large part been referenda on the ‘One China’ policy.
Voters are generally offered two deviations from the status quo — either a path toward eventual reunification with mainland China or a path toward independence. Read more…
Author: Jennifer Chen, Georgetown University
Taiwan will hold its fifth direct presidential election on 14 January. But many Taiwanese will go to the ballot box without understanding the specific differences between the two leading presidential candidates.
In Taiwan, people tend to vote for the colour — blue for the Kuomintang (KMT) and green for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) — rather than the strengths and qualities associated with each candidate. Read more…
Author: Thomas S. Wilkins, University of Sydney
The Taiwanese presidential election is due to be held on 14 January. As the election draws near, analysts in Taiwan are avidly sifting the tea leaves to predict what the future holds — will the incumbent leader, Ma Ying-jeou, of the Kuomintang (KMT) gain a second term and continue his rapprochement with the PRC mainland?
Or will Tsai Ing-wen, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) opponent, unseat Ma and seek to reinforce Taiwan’s distinct identity? At present, polls show almost an even split in support for the two candidates. Read more…
Authors: Bonnie S. Glaser and Brittany Billingsley, CSIS
Since Ma Ying-jeou assumed the presidency in Taiwan in May 2008, relations across the Taiwan Strait have improved dramatically.
In the past three and a half years, 16 agreements have been signed on practical matters that have largely benefited both sides of the strait. Read more…
Author: Sheryn Lee, ANU
The US confirmed last month that it will uphold a commitment to refurbish Taiwan’s aging F-16A/B jet fighter fleet in a US$5.85 billion arms package.
This has once again sparked debate about whether Washington’s continued arms sales to Taipei serve the region’s interests in maintaining the cross-Strait status quo. Read more…
Author: Carlyle A Thayer, UNSW Canberra
The Obama Administration’s decision to sell Taiwan an arms package worth $5.85 billion is a carefully calibrated decision designed to meet US legal obligations under the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.
It is also a decision that carefully calibrates the impact on Sino–American relations at a time of improved relations not only between Washington and Beijing but between Beijing and Taipei. Read more…
Author: Joel Atkinson, Monash University
The Asia Pacific is in muted tumult. China has seized on perceived changing regional power equations following the financial crisis and attendant economic stagnation in the US, and adopted a harsher and more insisting tone over its interests.
Taken aback, many regional countries have come to view China in a new, more ominous, light and have moved to embrace (or re-embrace) the US. Read more…
Author: Sheryn Lee, ANU
On 25 January, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou revived calls for the purchase of the latest F-16C/D Fighting Falcon jet fighters from the United States, stating that it was crucial for the survival of Taiwan’s sovereignty. Despite the Obama administration’s apparent commitment to the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, Washington has deferred sale of the upgraded fighters since Taiwan first formally requested 66 of them in early 2007.
There are signs of changing attitudes within the administration. Read more…