Jan 13, 2024 at 1:44 PM Update: an hour ago
The China-critical Lai Ching-te won the Taiwanese presidential election on Saturday with 40.2 percent of the votes. “Taiwan has shown the world how much it cherishes democracy,” he said.
Lai, also known by his English name William Lai, was already leading in the latest polls with almost 40 percent of the votes. The candidate of the current ruling party has therefore managed to slightly exceed that percentage.
Lai is chairman of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and was vice president under the outgoing government. He is critical of China and believes that Taiwan absolutely does not belong to China.
Taiwanese elected not only a new president on Saturday, but also a new parliament. In total, each eligible voter received three ballot papers to complete on Saturday: one for the presidential candidate, one for a local parliamentary candidate and one for a parliamentary party.
Before the elections, the DPP had a majority in parliament with 63 out of 113 seats, but was unable to retain it. The DPP stands according to the newspaper Taipei Times in the interim results at just over 36 percent of the votes. That is slightly more than the KMT’s more than 34 percent. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), a center-left party that had presented itself as an alternative to the two major parties, can count on almost 22 percent of the votes.
Opposition candidate admits loss
The presidential candidate of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, Hou Yu-ih, admitted defeat on Saturday. He received 33.4 percent of the votes. The KMT ruled China until it lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan in 1949. The party denies being pro-China, but is in favor of closer ties with China.
China is closely following Saturday’s presidential and parliamentary elections, because Taiwanese determine, among other things, the relationship with China. China considers Taiwan a renegade province.
In response, China said that the outcome of the elections does not change the tense relationship with Taiwan. According to China, the result is proof that the majority of Taiwanese do not support the China-critical party.
“We will firmly oppose separatist activities aimed at Taiwan’s independence and foreign interference. Taiwan is China’s Taiwan,” Beijing said in response to the election results.
The relationship between China and Taiwan
- Taiwan was under Chinese martial law until 1987 and did not hold its first direct presidential elections until 1996. That was a high point after decades of struggle for democracy.
- China regards the island, slightly smaller in size than the Netherlands, as a renegade province.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that Taiwan will one day become part of China again and that force will be used if necessary.
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