Chu was quickly congratulated by Chinese President Xi Jinping. He replied by reaffirming the so-called 1992 consensus, an agreement between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that posits China and Taiwan are part of the same country.
Xi has congratulated previous KMT leaders on their election, but last year he snubbed the newly elected Johnny Chiang, who had been portrayed as a possible reformer. Chiang, however, came in a distant third on Saturday behind Chu and Chang Ya-chung, an academic who called for even closer ties with Beijing and eventual unification.
