This article aims at clarifying the differences between the Kuomintang, the Chinese national party based on Taiwan, tempted by conditional unification with China, and the DPP, the indigenous pro-Taiwan party. After showing how these two parties share a basic common understanding of the Republic of China on Taiwan as being a sovereign entity, this paper shows where are the true lines of demarcation between the two political forces: on the ultimate goals on terms of nation building, on social policy and on the best way to negotiate with an ever growing China. The article questions the reasons behind the obvious diminished importance of the national identity debate in the 2012 elections, and shows that the vote for Ma Ying-jeou, in 2012 just as in 2008, is not equivalent to a vote for China, nor to a vote for unification. Last, it tries to understand what are the reasons that led swing voters, who hesitated until the last moment, to finally decide to give a second mandate to a President that is not anymore popular, and who is generally not considered by most of them as being very competent.