Is the Guardian daydreaming or...?

Taiwan election may open window for better China ties, report says

International Crisis Group urges all parties including US to re-establish a baseline level of trust

Tsai will step down early next year at the end of her second and final term, and the report says the handover could present “a window of opportunity to resume cross-strait dialogue”. In the event of a DPP victory – noting that the opposition KMT already has “an understanding” with Beijing – the report advises the two sides to find a “mutually acceptable political formulation” of the cross-strait relationship.
However, if this were a bridge too far under current hostilities, a new DPP government could identify other areas to restart dialogue as incentives for Beijing, in return for a reduction in economic, military and political pressure.

Seriously? There is a group so detached from reality that is writing reports giving advice to...whom? Hopefully not politicians. The only way for the DPP to "restart a dialogue" would be to say "Guys, we surrender! Why don't you come over and invade us? We promise we won't struggle!"

Look, you got this point right:

Beijing cut off all dialogue with Taipei after Tsai’s election in 2016 in response to the DPP’s position. It has spent years actively deepening Taiwan’s international isolation and punishing it economically, which has only strengthened Taiwanese opposition to unification, leaving the two sides at a dangerous impasse.

See? The PRC cut off ties, not #Taiwan. They stopped tourists from coming to Taiwan, students from studying at Taiwanese universities. They did it because the DPP won. If the DPP wins again, they won't retract those restrictions even one bit. If the KMT wins, then the KMT would of course do everything they can to sell out Taiwan, but the DPP (or any other sane political party in Taiwan) naturally won't. So the PRC would of course be very friendly to a KMT government, but not to a DPP government.

Dear Crisis Group, please smoke something else. The only one who can restore ties is the PRC, because they are the guys who terminated them in the first place. They are the ones who don't want to talk. So, if an election can improve relations between Taiwan and the PRC, then it's most likely an "election" in the PRC.