Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen on Monday met U.S. delegates who arrived on the island on the heels of an election won by a pro-sovereignty candidate who Beijing said would bring war to the self-ruled island.

Taiwan's ruling party candidate Lai Ching-te, branded a threat to peace by China, on Saturday won the island's presidential election, a vote watched closely from Beijing to Washington.

Lai delivered an unprecedented third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after a raucous campaign in which he pitched himself as the defender of Taiwan's democratic way of life.

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen took to the polls in New Taipei City, urging citizens to participate in the democratic process during the presidential election. As the leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai cast her ballot at the Xiulang Elementary School voting place, accompanied by vice-presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim and party officials.

Millions of Taiwanese voted Saturday for a new president in the face of threats from China that choosing the wrong leader could set the stage for war on the self-ruled island.

Tens of thousands of supporters of Taiwan's three political parties will rally Friday as candidates make a last push for votes in an election that China has warned could take the island closer to war.

Taiwan's bustling democracy of 23 million people is separated by a narrow 180-kilometer (110-mile) strait from communist-ruled China, which claims the island as part of its territory.

He also pointed to the common origin of the two peoples.
"We are all Chinese," Ma said Tuesday in Nanjing, where he spoke in front of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. "The people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are Chinese and both are descendants of the Yan and Yellow Emperors", he added.

Taiwan's parliament on Dec. 26 passed the first draft of a controversial marriage equality bill, moving the island a step closer to becoming the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex nuptials.