Political ground shifting in Taiwan against KMT

THE rout of the Nationalist Party, or Kuomintang (KMT), in Taiwan by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in local elections on Nov 29 changed Taiwan's political landscape overnight, making the DPP candidate for president in 2016 the odds-on favourite and possibly marking a change in cross-strait relations.

While each of the "nine-in-one" elections was a local race, cumulatively, they constituted a referendum on the performance of the Ma Ying-jeou presidency. And Mr Ma was keenly aware of this, immediately issuing a public apology, promising reforms and giving up the chairmanship of the KMT.

Mr Ma's cross-strait policy - his most important achievement of the last six years - was not a campaign issue. But Beijing is no doubt aware that if Mr Ma's political platform as a whole is being rejected by the electorate, it may be difficult to separate this baby from the bath water.