Subject is the title of a most recent essay of the Economist, with a sub-title "a blow to the KMT". 

The accounts that the magazine narrate are mostly known to us; nevertheless, the conclusion thereof may somewhat be disputable.  QUOTE "Although the China-friendly Mr Ma remains in power and his party still controls the legislature, China will be disturbed. It will be even less convinced that Mr Ma will have the political strength to push for more measures to improve cross-strait ties before he steps down in 2016; there had been talk of setting up representative offices in each other’s territory as well as greater liberalisation of cross-strait trade. The DPP’s strengthened popularity might cause some KMT lawmakers to become more lukewarm in their support for these projects (early in 2016 they will be up for re-election too). The coming year will be a tense one in Taiwan’s politics." UNQUOTE

First of all, Ma has never been China-friendly, not at all.  He is so feeble as to curry favor to "mainstream" in the first place instead of trying to reverse the wicked "anti-China" trend, and what he did to Mainland had been nothing but managing to take advantage from the so-called cross-fertilization.  Actually ma has no willingness nor resolve of being friendly to Mainland or respectful to Chinese culture; if he were, the situation would have been quite different from what is now.  You know, I always believe "風行草偃" or "民意如流水". 

China will be disturbed, worrying about DPP's strenthened popularity?  What a joke.  Mainland is now busy dealing with other things of greater significance such as plans of new silk roads, the dorminace of RMB, and so on; who cares about a local election in Taiwan anyway?  By the time of 2016 when Taiwan's "presidential" election is held, the result will mainly hinge upon the wax and wane between China and United States.  I don't think US. would support the independence-inclined DPP at the risk of imperiling the tenuous Sino-American relationship.  So to hell with that "strengthened popularity", it's utterly meaningless in the chessboard of international confrontation between powers.