US Politics in Taiwan

The US Presidential Election was big news in Taiwan with lots of news coverage, schools holding mock elections, and televisions focusing on the results from each state. Taiwan's President, Ma Ying -jeou (馬英九) was quick to congratulate President Obama through diplomatic channels--see article here. Former Taiwanese foreign minister, Frederick Chien, states that Taiwan and China relations have improved during the past few years which has also improved relations with the U.S. He believes that "the U.S. will maintain good relations with both China and Taiwan if Obama is re-elected."

The Taiwan news is also focused on the recent election of Taiwanese-American woman, Grace Meng (孟昭文), to the US House of Representatives. She is a 37-year old Democrat and the first Asian American to be elected to Congress from New York. Meng hopes that her election will "Strengthen the voice of the Asian American population" which is over 1 million people in New York.