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Washington, March 19 (CNA) The Washington Post said Sunday that by electing the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Chen Shui-bian as president, "the people of Taiwan have taken a major step toward consolidation of their country's democracy."

The newspaper wrote in its editorial that for the first time, control of the executive branch will pass peacefully from the Kuomintang, which has ruled Taiwan since 1949. While the vote revolved largely around the KMT's perceived corruption, "it is clearly another sign of the Taiwanese people's refusal to let their political status be decided by the bullying of Beijing."

Beijing issued threats before Saturday's vote, trying to prevent a Chen victory. "It backfired -- further proof of how little the Chinese Communists comprehend democratic politics or the island they claim as theirs. It's unclear what frightened and angered Beijing more: the risk of losing the 'province' across the Taiwan Straits, or the spectacle of 22 million Chinese peacefully deposing the party that has governed them for the last 50 years," said the editorial.

With 39 percent of the vote, Chen must govern with deference to those more cautious about independence; the KMT still wields clout in parliament and the security services. Chen has shown he understands these realities: During the campaign, he pledged not to hold a referendum on independence; after his victory, he reiterated his offer of a "journey of reconciliation" to meet with China's leaders.

Still, the editorial continued, Chen's election raises questions about the "one China" policy to which the United States has adhered since President Richard Nixon's meeting with Mao Zedong in 1972. At the time, both the mainland and Taiwan were governed by dictatorial parties that considered themselves the rightful rulers of both territories.

China's Communists still cling to both their claim on Taiwan and to absolute power, but Taiwan's KMT evolved in a different direction -- to the point where they have now ceded the presidency to the party of democracy and independence, it said.

Increasingly, the newspaper concluded, "the question confronting the Clinton administration is how to keep the peace in a world where China seems more and more determined to divert attention from internal problems through international assertions -- but where the Taiwanese are, and should remain, free to decide their own fate." (By Nelson Chung)