Taiwan could get closer to China
The Nationalist Kuomintang Party's win in Taiwan might mean a better relationship between the country and China. Bill Marcus reports how the party's victory could improve trade by making it cheaper and faster.
A Nationalist Kuomintang Party (KMT) supporter celebrates victory outside the KMT headquarters in Taipei. The KMT declared a landslide victory in the island's parliamentary election. (Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images)
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TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: One bright spot in Asia today was Taiwan. Stocks gained nearly 2 percent after a big election win for the Nationalist Party. These were legislative elections. The Nationalist Party is friendly to China, so this could mean some trade progress between the two countries. Bill Marcus has more from Shanghai.
Bill Marcus: The Nationalist Koumintang is the odds-on favorite to also take Taiwan's presidency in the Spring. The party supports open shipping and air lanes between Taiwan and China, unlike their opposition that had controlled the legislature for several years.
Taiwan expert Shelley Rigger says opening up the Straits will make moving goods and people less expensive -- and less-time consuming, because they won't have to go through Hong Kong.
Shelley Rigger: Gradually these two societies that have been growing apart for 100 years will grow back together. That may not be such an unrealistic way to look at the long-term, the very long-term future of Taiwan and Mainland China.
Easier movement of goods would slash production costs, and maybe even prices on the computers and TVs designed in Taiwan and assembled in China.
In Shanghai, I'm Bill Marcus, for Marketplace.
