Tsai landslide risks China cranking up pressure on Taiwan

Beijing is seen likely to take further diplomatic, economic or military steps

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. "The two sides have almost no political trust," according to Pan Chao-min, a professor at Tunghai University's Graduate Institute of Political Science in Taiwan. (Reuters/Akira Kodaka)

CHENG TING-FANG, LAULY LI and KENJI KAWASE, Nikkei staff writers

January 12, 2020 17:43 JST

TAIPEI -- Tsai Ing-wen's sweeping victory in Taiwan's presidential election vindicated her strong stance against China, but also risks provoking Beijing into stepping up its campaign of pressure against an island it views as a wayward province.

Tsai, who portrays herself as the best defender of democracy in Taiwan, received the highest number of votes for any candidate since the island's first direct presidential election in 1996. In her campaign, she played up Beijing's crackdown on Hong Kong protesters and the perceived threat to Taiwan's hard-fought democracy.