Incumbent president Ma Ying Jeou of the ruling Kuomintang Party seeking another four - year term . Tsai Ing - wen , leader of the Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP ) , would be the first female president . China keeps hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan , an ominous threat to the island to participate in the war . Despite the ambiguity , the 1992 Consensus has served as the basis for cross-strait dialogue that has led in recent years to the unprecedented blossoming of economic and people-to-people ties across the Taiwan Strait . Beijing wary of Tsai Ing - ho , suspecting her of having a pro - independence agenda .
Incumbent president Ma Ying Jeou of the ruling Kuomintang Party seeking another four - year term . Tsai Ing - wen , leader of the Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP ) , would be the first female president . China keeps hundreds of missiles aimed at Taiwan , an ominous threat to the island to participate in the war . Beijing wary of Tsai Ing - ho , suspecting her of having a pro - independence agenda .