‘A win for moderates’ in election of Taiwan’s new Democratic Progressive Party chief

Taiwan’s ruling pro-independence party elected a new chairman on Sunday in a move that analysts saw as a win for the organisation’s moderate wing.

Observers said the election of former cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai over a radical opponent in the race to lead the Democratic Progressive Party would help stabilise the policies of President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration, as ties between Beijing and Taipei are at a low.

The election came just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping made a key policy speech on Taiwan, calling on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to start talks on unification and adoption of “one country, two systems” in Taiwan to settle the 70-year-old cross-strait divide.

The vote was prompted by Tsai’s resignation as party chairwoman in November following a landslide defeat for the DPP in local government elections. Tsai, who has angered Beijing by refusing to acknowledge the “one China” policy, remains the self-governed island’s president.

Cho, seen as having a conciliatory attitude towards Tsai, won 72.6 per cent of the ballots, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported late on Sunday. He beat polling specialist You Ying-lung, who has been critical of the president.

You supported a recent call by four party heavyweights for Tsai not to seek re-election in 2020 – although he also said that it was something that the public should ultimately decide.

After his win, Cho said the party would carry out the 2020 presidential nomination race in accordance with the DPP’s mechanism, and all party members were equally eligible, the Liberty Times reported.