Tsai Ing-Wen's emphatic re-election sent a clear message that Taiwan rejects China's plans for reunification with the island. It was a remarkable turnaround for the president whose party suffered large losses in local elections just a year ago.
So how might Beijing respond to Tsai's win, which gives her a second term in office? And how far is the US prepared to go to defend Taiwan?
Drew Thompson discusses these issues as part of a panel with Joseph Cheng, retired professor of political science at City University of Hong Kong, and Andy Mok, Senior Research Fellow with the Centre for China and Globalisation, hosted by Martine Dennis on the programme Inside Story onAl Jazeera.