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TAIPEI-Taiwan's main opposition Nationalist Party won the presidential election by a landslide on Saturday, heralding improved ties with giant neighbor China which claims the self-ruled island as its own.But President-elect Ma Ying-jeou(picture left) said he would only consider signing a peace deal with China, an offer Beijing has made with conditions, if it stopped aiming missiles at Taiwan.China has claimed Taiwan as its territory since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949 and has threatened to bring the island under its control-by force if necessary. Taiwan says China has more than 1,000 missiles aimed at the island."Cross-Strait relations have stagnated, so we have to prioritize things," Ma told reporters after announcing his victory to thousands of supporters who screamed, blew party horns and set off fireworks in downtown Taipei. "First is normalization of (economic) relations, and then a peace agreement.But, he said, "before we can talk about peace, we need to remove the threat".Ma said he had no plans to go to China but hinted that he would visit other major nations before taking office on May 20. Japan and Singapore congratulated him on Saturday.Chinese President Hu Jintao offered broad peace talks with Taiwan earlier this month, but under the so-called "one China" policy, which defines the island and the mainland as part of a single country, a concept Taiwan's current government rejects.Ma also billed himself as an economic revival president amid inflation and wage concerns that analysts said swayed the vote.To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah....
