The Politics of Cross-Strait Relations

Su Tseng-chang, New Taipei mayor candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), waving during the elections campaign.

(SAM YEH/AFP/Getty Images)

This picture taken on November 15, 2018 shows Su Tseng-chang, New Taipei mayor candidate from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), waving during the elections campaign in Tucheng district, New Taipei City.

Su Tseng-chang, a former Taiwanese premier, takes over as chairman of the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on May 30. Following his election over the weekend, Su said the DPP would re-open its Department of China Affairs and seek to establish offices in the United States and Japan. With a contemplative eye on the 2016 presidential elections, Su is seeking to reinvigorate the DPP, and this requires falling at least partly in line with the ruling Kuomintang's (KMT) more cooperative policies toward the People's Republic of China. The challenge for the DPP, like that for the KMT or any Taiwanese leadership, is how to balance the advantages of economic interaction and smoother political relations with China with the sovereignty risks of overdependence on the mainland. The potentially lessening recognition of Taiwan's security needs during times of relative cross-Strait calm must also be considered.