Frank Hsieh

(Newser) - Taiwan’s China-friendly opposition party handily beat the island’s ruling party in today’s presidential election, signaling smoother relations between the feuding governments, Reuters reports. President-elect Ma Ying-jeou, who won the vote over the Democratic Progressive Party 58%-42%, campaigned on a call for stronger economic ties with Beijing.

(Newser) - Both candidates in Taiwan's presidential election Saturday favor mending fences with China, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beijing has recently eased its once-blustery rhetoric over the breakaway island, and both Taiwanese parties are betting that closer ties with the mainland's booming economy could help pull theirs out of a slump.