Taiwan Ruling Party’s Lai Wins Presidential Election Despite China's Threats
William Lai Ching-te from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won Taiwan’s presidential election despite warnings from China not to vote for him.
China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, said the DPP does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island after Lai was named the winner of Saturday’s vote.
China declared that the electoral outcome “will not impede the inevitable trend of China’s reunification”.
Lai, the current vice president, was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
According to Al Jazeera, with votes from all polling stations counted on Saturday, the Central Election Commission said Lai won 40.1 per cent, ahead of Hou’s 33.5 per cent.
Both Hou and Ko conceded defeat. Hou congratulated Lai on his victory. He also apologised to KMT supporters for not being able to remove the DPP.
Lai thanked voters for electing him and commended his rivals for conceding defeat. He said:
I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy. We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy.
He added that he hoped for a return to “healthy and orderly” exchanges with China.
Meanwhile, responding to Lai’s win, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan”. Said Chen:
Our stance on resolving the Taiwan question and realising national “reunification” remains consistent, and our determination is as firm as a rock.
Chen warned against separatist activities aimed at “Taiwan independence” as well as “foreign interference”.
Taiwan has been self-governing since the 1940s, but China still claims the island and its outlying territories and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its ambitions.
In the run-up to the polls, China denounced Lai as a dangerous separatist. China warned that Lai would be a threat to peace in the region if he won, and called the elections a choice between “peace and war”.
Lai has maintained that he is committed to peace and open to conditional engagement with Beijing.
But he also promised “to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threat and intimidation from China”.
The DPP has been in power for the past eight years under President Tsai.
About 19.5 million people aged 20 and over were eligible to vote on Saturday to elect a president and MPs for Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature.
When asked for a reaction to Saturday’s elections, US President Joe Biden replied that Washington does not support the independence of Taiwan.
More: Pindula News
