With the presidency and the fate of their democracy at issue, the people of Taiwan took to the polls on Saturday to give Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a convincing testimonial of approval.   

59-year old Tsai -- who received a master's degree from Cornell University and is a graduate of the London School of Economics -- is Taiwan's first woman president, winning the elections over main rival Eric Chu of the Kuomintang (KMT) party.  

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The soft-spoken former accounting professor took around 56 percent of the votes, according to the BBC.  The Brookings Institution says Chu claimed a little over 30 percent of the votes.  James Soong of the People's First Party (PFP) meanwhile got 12.8 percent.  

Voters cast two ballots for the Legislative Yuan.  One is for a candidate to represent their geographic election district, of which there are 78.  The other is for the voter's preferred political party, which will produce 35 party list legislators.

Taiwan's Central News Agency reports that the DPP will have at least 60 seats in the Legislative Yuan based on geographic election districts, which is enough for an absolute majority. The DPP is also said to have claimed 44 percent of the party votes in the legislature. 

Beijing has responded to Tsai's victory with a stern warning. China's Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement saying the Chinese government would "oppose any form of secessionist activities seeking Taiwan independence."

In an editorial piece, China's state-run news agency Xinhua meanwhile said the DPP's return to power "poses grave challenges to cross-Strait relations".

In her victory speech, Tsai reiterated her vow to maintain the status quo in Taiwan's relations with China, but stressed that Beijing must respect Taiwan's democracy as both sides work to ensure that there are no provocations between them.

"Our democracy, national identity and international space must be fully respected and any suppression would undermine cross-Strait relations," Tsai said, adding that the will of the Taiwanese people will be the basis of the island's future exchanges with China.     

Taiwan's president-elect thanked the US and Japan for their support and pledged that Taiwan would contribute to the peace and stability of the region.

Saturday's vote significantly alters the balance of power in Taiwan in favor of the DPP, and puts the party in a commanding position both in the executive branch and in Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, a situation that is unprecedented in the island's lively -- and often dramatic -- political history.

Many analysts have said that Tsai's presidency could mark a turning point in Taiwan's often tentative quest for independence and its relationship with mainland China.

During its eight-year rule, the KMT party oversaw a vast improvement in Taiwan's ties with its giant neighbor across the Formosa Strait. 

Taiwan's outgoing chief executive, Ma Ying-jeou, approved more 20 trade agreements with China during his two terms.  These trade deals -- some of which saw China making important concessions -- increased Taiwan's trade revenues from the mainland from around $18 billion in 2000 to its current average of about $200 billion a year. 

Critics of the DPP have warned that these ties -- and the economic benefits they bring -- are bound to deteriorate once Tsai assumes office as Taiwan's chief executive.

While Tsai has said that she will maintain the status quo with China, she has made it clear that she will not endorse the "1992 consensus" -- the tacit understanding between the two sides that there is only one China, without specifying precisely what that means. 

TagsTaiwan, China-Taiwan relations