Tsai Ing-wen, First Woman to be Elected as President of Taiwan
17 January 2016 11:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Taipei - Tsai Ing-wen was elected Taiwan’s president on Saturday, becoming the first woman to win the office.
Voters gave her Democratic Progressive Party, which is skeptical of closer ties with China, control of Taiwan’s legislature for the first time, giving her broad authority to enact her policies in office.
“The results today tell me the people want to see a government that is willing to listen to people, that is more transparent and accountable and a government that is more capable of leading us past our current challenges and taking care of those in need,” she said in a news conference outside her party’s headquarters.
Her main opponent, Eric Chu of the governing party, Kuomintang, conceded just after 7 p.m.
“I congratulate Chairman Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party on her victory,” he said. “This is the choice of Taiwan’s people.”
With 99 percent of the polling places reporting results, Ms. Tsai had 56 percent of the vote to Mr. Chu’s 31 percent, Taiwan’s Central Election Commission said.
BBC | REUTERS | LARISSA HUDA
