Taiwan's newly elected politicians are much cooler than any British MPs

The Taiwanese electorate voted in their very first female president this month.

Tsai Ing-wen's victory marks an important point for the future of Taiwan and its relationship with China.

In her victory speech Tsai, an academic who has worked within the government since the 1990s, said she would lead a new era for Taiwan as she and her party, the Democratic Progressive Party, seek full independence from Beijing.

The cat lover (here giving a happy new year message) is immensely popular, especially among younger voters.

Currently, China views Taiwan as a breakaway province and has threatened to take back the state by force if necessary. Chinese media has warned that no one should be entertaining the "hallucination of independence".

However, Tsai is far from the most progressive politician to enjoy success in the 2016 election.

The fledgling New Power Party won five seats in the 113-strong legislature regardless of being less than 12 months old.

The party emerged in 2015 from the youth-driven Sunflower Movement, gaining unparalleled popularity through its campaign for greater transparency and emphasis on social justice.

Their newly elected politicians include:

Freddy Lim, 39, frontman of one of the (if not the) most popular death metal band in Asia, Chthonic.

I’m the first rock n’ roll singer to enter national politics in Asia.

• Freddy Lim

Hung Tzu-yung, 31, the sister of Hung Chung-chiu whose suspicious death while training with the military caused thousands to take to the streets in protest in 2013.

Corporal Hung Chung-chiu died of internal bleeding and multiple organ failure just two days before he was scheduled to be discharged. The mysterious circumstances around his death sparked allegations of abuse within the Taiwanese military.

Kawlo Iyun Pacidal, a former TV presenter and aboriginal activist

The two other members elected from the New Power Party are professor of political science Hsu Yung-ming and former academic researcher Huang Kuo-chang.

Let's just compare that to what we've got... Johnny Mercer the Tory MP who lives on a boat and was in a Dove advert.

H/T Quartz