HONG KONG — The electoral defeat of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan was expected, but the magnitude of the loss took everyone by surprise, including the DPP itself and the opposition party, the Kuomintang.
The election transformed the situation from one where the opposition had a razor-thin majority in the Legislative Yuan, or Parliament, to where it has more than a two-thirds majority. Hence, as of Feb. 1, the opposition party can in theory pass whatever bills it desires.
However, KMT party leaders are saying, wisely, that they will not abuse their power and will not seek to impeach President Chen Shui-bian, as they had repeatedly tried to do in the past.