...During the 1950s and 1960s the Kuomintang (KMT), which fled to Taiwan at the end of the civil war in mainland China in 1949, ruled the island with an iron fist. Gradually, however, the KMT opened up the political system. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), officially formed in 1986, made inroads in local government and the Legislative Yuan (parliament), and in 2000 its candidate, Chen Shui-bian, took the presidency. Mr Chen's victory in 2000 reflected a split in the KMT. He won re-election in March 2004, but became progressively more unpopular owing to allegations of corruption and an increasingly fractious DPP. The KMT's candidate, Ma Ying-jeou, won the presidential election that was held on March 22nd 2008. The major political challenge for all of Taiwan's parties is dealing with China, which asserts that Taiwan is a renegade province and maintains a threat to invade the island. The KMT has traditionally favoured unification with China, whereas the DPP advocates independence. The...
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