BBC news with Cathy Claxton.

In the last few minutes, the opposition candidate, Ma Ying-jeou from the Kuomintang party, has claimed victory in Taiwan's presidential election. He said the result was a win for hope and expression of desire for change. Local television stations had earlier put at least 17 percent ahead of his rival, Frank Hsieh of the governing Democratic Progressive Party(DPP). From Taipei, Caroline Gluck.

Fireworks were being set off as the local television news networks reported Ma Ying-jeou had surged ahead of his rival. There were jubilant scenes at Mr Ma's party headquarters with cheering and whistles. But the atmosphere at his rival's campaign base was somber with people in tears. A DPP party spokesman admitted defeat even though the final vote were still being counted. Mr Ma had made the economy the centerpiece of his election campaign, promising an economic revival. He'd set ambitious growth targets which some analysts said could not met unless his second pledge to establish much closer economic ties with China was met.