Taiwan-China ties at crossroads

Tsai Ing-wen, the candidate of the pro-independence main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), is poised to become president of Taiwan, forcing China and Taiwan to redefine cross-strait ties

1949: Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang (KMT) nationalists form own government in Taiwan after Mao Zedong’s communists take power in China 

1970s

1979: U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with China but passes law requiring defence aid to Taiwan

1980s

1990s

1993: Envoys from both sides hold first high-level official talks

1996: China fires missiles near Taiwan in attempt to influence island’s first presidential elections

2000s

2000: Nationalists lose presidency with election of DPP candidate Chen Shui-bian

2005: Beijing passes law that makes secession by Taiwan illegal, at risk of military action

2008: High-level talks resume after Nationalist candidate Ma Ying-jeou is elected president

2010s

2010: China and Taiwan sign preferential trade pact

2015: China's President Xi Jinping and Taiwan’s Ma hold historic talks in Singapore – first meeting of two sides’ leaders
since 1949

Jan 16, 2016: Tsai Ing-wen, frontrunner in presidential election, is set to become most powerful female politician in Chinese world

Pictures: Getty Images, AP