Taiwan's Ma wins poll, heralding boost for China ties

By Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party won the presidential election by a landslide on Saturday, heralding improved ties with giant neighbour China which claims the self-ruled island as its own.

But President-elect Ma Ying-jeou said he would only consider signing a peace deal with China, an offer Beijing has made with conditions, if it stopped aiming missiles at Taiwan.

China has claimed Taiwan as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has threatened to bring the island under its control -- by force if necessary. Taiwan says China has more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island.

"Cross-Strait relations have stagnated, so we have to prioritise things," Ma told reporters after announcing his victory to thousands of supporters who screamed, blew party horns and set off fireworks in downtown Taipei. "First is normalisation of (economic) relations, and then a peace agreement.

But, he said, "before we can talk about peace, we need to remove the threat".

Ma said he had no plans to go to China but hinted that he would visit other major nations before taking office on May 20.

The United States, Japan and Singapore congratulated him.

U.S. President George W. Bush called Taiwan a beacon of democracy and said it and Beijing had to talk in order to build foundations for stability and refrain from unilateral steps.