Sinomania!

Taiwan reunification is poised for a major step forward in Satuday's elections for President of Taiwan if Kuomintang (Nationalist) candidate Ma Ying-jeou wins, as expected, over the flailing DPP nominee Frank Hsieh. (Note: Taiwan continues to use the old Wade-Giles Chinese-English transliteration system developed in the 19th Century.)

Of course the possibility of "dirty tricks" exists but after the last-minute "assassination" attempt and recount dramas of 2000 it is doubtful Taiwan voters will fall for it this time. And the last polls (no polls have been allowed since last week) showed Ma with a healthy margin (54% or higher) over Hsieh.

The win by the KMT will represent a watershed in Taiwan-Beijing relations and mark a major setback for the influence of the American Republican Party overseas.

As President Ma promises direct air links to mainland China and business relations. This will begin the process of economic absorption of Taiwan much in the way Hong Kong was absorbed long before the official 1997 "handover".

Goldman Sachs is predicting a bull run in Taipei Stocks with the TAIEX Index reaching 10,000.

Labels: dpp, elections, kmt, president, reunification, taiwan