And Taiwanese woke up to a new President elect this weekend. The former mayor of Taipei Ma Ying-Jeou beat Frank Hsieh 58-42, percent. The analysis from NTD.

STORY:

President elect Ma faces a number of immediate challenges, even before he takes office in May. He will have to make good on pledges to strengthen Taiwan's economy. And he will have to chart a course for dealing with mainland China over the next four years.

Ma's Kuomintang, or KMT, party as a whole favors closer relations with mainland China, as well as increased trade, and eventual reunification. But Ma took a couple of strong stands against the mainland this weekend. At a news conference following his election Ma said that China would have to dismantle its missiles before a peace treaty can be negotiated. China currently has around 1,000 missiles aimed at Taiwan.

At a separate press conference on Sunday, Ma also said that he would consider boycotting the Beijing Olympics if the Chinese military continues to oppress Tibetans.

[Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwanese President-Elect]:

"I said a couple of days ago if the Chinese authorities continue to suppress the Tibetan people and the situation in Tibet continues to worsen, I would not exclude the possibility of not sending athletic teams to the 2008 Olympic games. We will certainly consider that possibility."

But the Taiwan's economic problems may not be any easier to solve than it's political problems. Despite the growth of many Taiwanese firms, including Acer, which surpassed China's Lenovo Group as the wold's third largest PC vendor last year, a global credit squeeze and U.S. financial troubles have hit Asian economies hard.