Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

Unless there is a major surprise, next year’s presidential election will be fought between the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), more than likely a faceoff between DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and KMT Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱). These two women, one Taiwanese and one Chinese, are to run for the presidency, one representing the country’s reconstruction, and one representing the colonial system.

Tsai is not a typical DPP member. She has an academic background and a lot of political experience, having held various positions during the leadership of former presidents Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has always bragged about establishing more peaceful and stable cross-strait relations, but his constant concessions to China seem to be pushing Taiwan to suicide, as Beijing has never ceased to demonstrate its territorial ambitions.

Earlier this year, Beijing’s unilateral announcement that it planned to establish a new flight route along the median of the Taiwan Strait — which has long served as the de facto boundary between Taiwan and China — was met with indignation by Taiwanese, as many considered it a provocative move.