Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou was re-elected Taiwan leader Saturday and pledged to work for cross-Strait ties in next tenure.

Ma extended appreciation and gratitude toward his supporters at a large gathering held in the KMT headquarters in Taipei, which was packed by swirling campaigning banners, stunning trumpet and hectic crowds amid a heavy rain.

Downpour did not dampen supporters' enthusiasm while tens of thousands of people shouted "Go for it" or "I love you" in front of the KMT campaigning headquarters.

The crowd echoed with thunderous cheering when Ma shouted on the stage, "Congratulations to your all, we win!"

Ma attributed the victory to the policies his team has made to fight corruption and maintain peace.

Taiwan people showed their recognition of the efforts KMT has made to shelf disputes with the mainland and maintain peace across the Taiwan Strait, he said at the gathering.

Ma promised to continue to deepen the cross-Strait relations, consolidate the mutual trust across the Strait in the coming four years.

He also believed that the cross-Strait relations "will become more harmonious."

"Many people have had higher expectation on us," Ma said, "They hope that, except taking care of the disadvantaged, we could pay more attention to the fairness in distribution, as well as the employment for the youth."

The 61-year-old Ma defeated rivals Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong in a three-way race. Ma led Tsai by about 800,000 votes in the poll.

Ma and his running mate Wu Den-yih, who is incumbent chief of the island's executive authority, got more than 6.89 million ballots, or 51.6 percent of the votes, whereas Tsai and her running mate Su Jia-chyuan, got more than 6.09 million ballots, or 45.6 percent of the votes.

PFP chairman James Soong and his running mate Lin Ruey-shiung got more than 369,000 ballots, or 2.8 percent of the votes, according to the island's election organization.

CROSS-STRAIT POLICIES HELP MA

"Taiwanese need a stable environment and Ma could provide such stability," said a voter surnamed Lin at the KMT headquarters. His hair was completely wet and raindrops running down onto his shoulders.

The Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) Ma signed with the Chinese mainland was "quite helpful" in promoting the island's growth, said Lin, who worked in a biotech company and traveled across the Strait quite often.

The 1992 Consensus reached between the two sides and supported by Ma was significant in promoting cross-Strait relations, he said.

In front of a television in a dessert shop near the KMT headquarters, a lot of people gathered to watch the broadcasting of Ma's victory speech and ballot counting results. They stood too far away from the stage and could not see Ma.

Hong Chiang, 61, came to the spot to cheer for Ma with her entire family. She and her family came back from New York to cast their ballots.

"Ma is honest and upright and has improved Taiwan during his current tenure. Tsai is unpredictable. We would not be assured if she was elected," said Hong, wearing a red jacket, swaying her body with the music and waving small flags.

Hsu Wun-pin, renowned lawyer and native from Tainan in southern Taiwan, told Xinhua that the election result showed that voters were not sure about Tsai and DPP who refused to accept the 1992 Consensus.

"Voters in Taiwan, especially those in southern Taiwan, were more rational than before, which meant they have felt the positive impacts of cross-Strait exchanges, including the ECFA, over the past three years," he said.

The election result suggested that Ma's policies concerning cross-Strait affairs have gained recognition and people would like to see the current cross-Strait exchanges continue, said Roget K.C. Hsu, general secretary of Travel Agent Association of Taiwan.

"Taiwan's tourism industry is looking forward for a good future of cross-Strait business as the number of tour packages and independent tourists will continue rising," he said.

At a press conference at the DPP headquarters, Ma's major rival Tsai admitted her defeat in the election and announced that she would resign from the post of DPP chairwoman.

REITERATING 1992 CONSENSUS

A spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council delivered a speech after the Taiwan leadership election, saying that the facts over the past four years have indicated that the peaceful development of the Cross-Strait relations is a correct road and has obtained support from a majority of Taiwan compatriots.

"We sincerely hoped that the Taiwan society could be stable and people live a happy life."

"We are willing to join hands with Taiwan's all walks of life on the basis of continuing to oppose the 'Taiwan independence' and sticking to the '1992 Consensus', to break new ground for the peaceful development of the cross-Strait relations and make common efforts for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation."

However, analysts in Beijing also noted that the situation on the island remained complicated and supporters of "Taiwan independence" would continue marring the development of cross-Strait relations.

They have suggested that it would take time for the two sides to ease the long-term disputes and disagreements and more efforts to build up common interests and links of emotions.

People from both sides are expected to join hands in laying the political, economic, cultural and emotional foundations for peaceful development across the Strait.

The "legislative" elections was held simultaneously with the leadership election, for the first time, in order to save costs.

Among the 113 seats in the island's "legislature," KMT gained 64 seats while DPP got 40 and PFP got three. Three seats went to the Taiwan Solidarity Union, two went to the Non-Partisan Solidarity Union and one to independent candidate.