Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took control of the island's Parliament for the first time on Monday (Feb 1), ushering in a new era two weeks after sweeping presidential and legislative elections.

Of the Parliament's 113 seats, 68 are now occupied by DPP lawmakers while the Kuomintang (KMT), which has dominated the island's politics since a civil war drove the party from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949, has only 35.

Mr Su Jia-chyuan, a rising star of the DPP, was elected as speaker, succeeding the KMT's Wang Jin-pyng, who served in the post for a record 17 years, the semi-official Central News Agency reported on Monday.

Mr Su is a former minister of the interior and DPP secretary-general who is widely seen as a close ally of President-elect Tsai Ing-wen. He is expected to spearhead reforms of the Legislative Yuan, the agency said.