From Beijing to Washington, the sigh of relief was almost audible when the Nationalist Party of the late Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek triumphed in weekend elections in Taiwan.

In droves, voters sent out the message that they wanted to see a cooling of the political rhetoric from their leaders that has enraged China and made their island among the hottest possible flashpoints for war in Asia.

The main opposition Nationalist Party, which fled to the island when Chiang lost a civil war in China to the Communists in 1949, thrashed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the legislative elections.

The Nationalists – or Kuomintang – captured 81 seats in the newly streamlined 113-member parliament with 72 per cent of the vote. The DPP took only 27 seats (24 per cent).

The crushing victory positions the Nationalist leader, the youthful and charismatic Ma Ying-jeou, as the most likely contender to win presidential elections set for late March.

The Taiwanese President, the outspoken and feisty Chen Shui-bian, resigned as chairman of the DPP as soon as the magnitude of its defeat became clear. Describing the loss as a personal shame, he said: “This is the biggest failure since the founding of the DPP and, as chairman, I should take responsibility.”

The voters demonstrated a dramatic shift in support. The Nationalists and their allies had previously held 49 per cent of seats in the legislature while the DPP and its partners held about 42 per cent. A series of corruption scandals that have embroiled family members of the President and some of his closest aides, and the faltering of an economy that is among the 20 biggest in the world, clearly pushed voters towards the Nationalists.

The most important message from the 21 million Taiwanese was on policy towards China. Beijing claims the island as part of its sovereign territory and says it is a renegade province that must be reunited eventually with the mainland – by force if necessary.

Taiwan has been de facto independent since 1949, but China says that a move towards a declaration of autonomy would be tantamount to a declaration of war and, in the past, has fired missiles into the seas around the island as a tacit warning not to go too far.

President Chen has been among the most aggressive proponents of independence for the island, enraging China and causing anxiety among many Taiwanese. His recent moves to limit economic ties with the mainland may have been an important catalyst.

Many voters said that the trade restrictions had caused the island’s once-vibrant economy to lose steam.

In a commentary the China Times described the election results as “a total setback for the pro-independence course led by Chen Shui-bian”. The US also considers President Chen’s policies towards China provocative. Many Taiwanese say that they prefer the status quo, under which the island is nominally a part of China but gets on with its own business.

Taiwanese politics are notoriously volatile and much could change in what is likely to be a bitter and highly personal campaign for the presidential election on March 22. President Chen won the previous vote, four years ago, by a narrow margin days after he was scratched by a bullet fired from the homemade gun of a would-be assassin. No one was caught, and the Nationalists spoke of dirty tricks.

ISLAND HISTORY

— Taiwan first came firmly under Chinese control in the 17th century but received little attention from the mainland government and was seized by Japan after the Sino-Japanese war of 1895

— At the end of the Second World War Taiwan was returned to China, then under the control of Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang (KMT) nationalist government

— Civil war between the KMT and Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP) broke out soon after. In 1949 the KMT fled to Taiwan with 1.5m Chinese citizens.

— China continues to claim Taiwan as part of its territory

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica; Times archive

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