Publication

In January 2008, Taiwan’s opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) won a two-thirds majority in the elections for the Legislative Yuan, the parliament in Taiwan. On March 22, the candidate of this party, Ma Ying-jeou, was elected president of Taiwan by a margin of almost 20 per cent. There is widespread hope that his inauguration on 20 May 2008 will be the beginning of a phase of improved relations with mainland China. It will not be easy for Ma, however, to fulfil the manifold and often contradictory expectations-of the Taiwanese population, his own party, Beijing and important international partners. He will only be able to make progress in the short run if Beijing is willing to use this window of opportunity for improving cross-Strait relations by reaching out to the new government.