Abstract
Elections are the bedrock of democracy. Taiwan is a multi-party democracy and the only ethnic Chinese society that can boast of being a Democracy. On 16 January 2016, 23 million citizens of the island voted to choose their sixteenth president. Dr Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) emerged victorious with 6.89 million votes (56 per cent of the total votes), and will become the first female president of Taiwan.
The elections results are no surprise, because during the 2014 local elections, the Koumintang Party (KMT) had already lost, and they could win only 6 out of 22 seats.
Prior to this, Taiwan was governed by the KMT majority government, headed by President Ma Ying-jeou. During the past few years, the incumbent government was becoming infamous due to unpopular domestic policies and its policies towards China. The article analyses why Dr. Tsai/DPP won an outstanding victory, and the implications the new government could mean for regional security.
Read the article online here.