Definition: In this task, you will be presented with a passage and have to answer a question based on your understanding of the events inferred from the passage. Try to find the best answer that is most likely to fill in "_". Note that the URLs in the text have been replaced with [Link].
Input: Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) Eclipsed for years by a rising China, Taiwan is standing taller after a thrilling and historic exercise in democracy. In a landslide win January 16, Tsai Ing-wen became Taiwan's first female president. Known as "Dr. Tsai" after completing a doctorate at the London School of Economics, she's also the first woman in Asia to be elected head of state without being part of a political legacy. While Tsai is known for her steely calm and understated manner, Freddy Lim is famous for his over-the-top stage antics as the frontman for Chthonic, one of Asia's leading black-metal bands.Taiwan's colorful democracy stands in sharp contrast to one-party ChinaIsland has just elected first female president, Tsai Ing-wenChina and Taiwan are divided by decades of tension after separating in 1949. 
 Question:And it's all happening at a time when _ is distancing itself even further from the mainland.

Taiwan