The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a press statement congratulating Dr Tsai Ing-wen and her party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in their electoral victory on 11 Jan 2020.
In its statement, it wrote, “We welcome the successful conclusion of the elections in Taiwan on 11 January 2020 and congratulate Dr Tsai Ing-wen and her party on their victory. Singapore and Taiwan share a close and friendly relationship, which goes back many years.”
MFA went to note, “We will continue to grow this relationship based on Singapore’s “One China” policy.”
It added, “The peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations would not be possible without wisdom and pragmatism by the leaders on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Over the years, both sides of the Strait have benefited immensely from such relations. Efforts to secure the well-being of future generations and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the region will continue to be welcomed by Singapore and the international community.”
Landslide victory for DPP, blow for Beijing
On Saturday, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen won a landslide victory as voters delivered a stunning rebuke of Beijing’s campaign to isolate the self-ruled island and handed its first female leader a second term.
Tsai, 63, was greeted by thousands of jubilant flag-waving supporters outside her party headquarters, hailing a result which looks set to infuriate China.
“Today we have defended our democracy and freedom, tomorrow let us stand united to overcome all challenges and difficulties,” she told the cheering crowd.
Official results showed Tsai secured 57 percent of the popular vote with a record-breaking 8.2 million ballots, 1.3 million more than her 2016 victory.
Her main rival Han Kuo-yu, from the China-friendly Kuomintang, racked up 39 percent and conceded defeat.
The result is a blow for Beijing, which views Taiwan as part of China and has made no secret of wanting to see Tsai turfed out.
After Tsai’s speech, Chinese state media carried a short statement from the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office saying Beijing “opposed any form of Taiwanese independence splittist attempts”.
Office spokesman Ma Xiaoguang later told Xinhua state media that Beijing continues to “uphold the basic principles of ‘peaceful reunification’ and ‘one country, two systems’ and the one-China principle.”
Taiwanese voters have watched events in Hong Kong closely because the financial hub is run on Beijing’s “one country, two systems” model.
China has suggested the same model could one day be applied to Taiwan if the island ever came to be controlled by Beijing.
But an increasing number of Taiwanese voters are spooked by that proposal.
