Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party won the historic election. In the early afternoon, the opposition admitted defeat.
Vice President and independence advocate Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, won the presidential election in Taiwan. The 64-year-old politician from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received 40.2 percent of the vote, as the electoral commission announced on Saturday, after counting 98 percent of the vote. His opponent, Hou Yu-ih of the pro-China Kuomintang (KMT), received 33.4 percent and conceded defeat.
China's communist leadership must therefore continue to pressure Taiwan. Beijing considers the island republic to be part of China, although Taiwan has had an independent, democratically elected government for decades. Beijing, which views Taiwan's pro-independence DPP as separatist, froze contacts with Taipei in 2016.
Both rivals admitted defeat during Saturday's count. The outcome of the simultaneous parliamentary elections was initially not certain. It is important for the development of the complicated relationship with China, which sees democratically governed and industrially developed Taiwan as a renegade province. Before the vote, the Beijing government described Lai as a dangerous separatist.
Lai, 64, explained in his first statement that they showed the world how much they loved democracy. The people of Taiwan have successfully resisted external influence. Hou Yu-ih of the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party (TTP) ran against Lai. The KMT supports closer ties with China but denies being pro-Chinese. The TTP also wants to reach China, but at the same time maintain democracy in Taiwan. Taiwan's previous president, Tsai Ing-wen, was not allowed to run again after two terms.
Lai spoke out in favor of maintaining peace, continuing previous policies and strengthening the armed forces. The fate of the island of around 23.5 million people is of significant importance to the global economy due to its role in the semiconductor industry. The world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, is headquartered there.
At the same time, the 19.5 million voters called decided on the new parliament, the Legislative Yuan, in which the DPP previously had an absolute majority. The official election result is expected on Saturday night local time. If the Progressive Party wins, it will be their third consecutive victory in the presidential election. The current president, Tsai Ing-wen, cannot run again after two terms.
pressure from China
With the election results, China's communist leadership will likely continue to put pressure on Taiwan. In the strait between China and Taiwan, which is important for global shipping, where the Chinese military sends fighter jets to the island republic almost every day as a show of force, tensions could therefore continue or even increase. China wants the island to be “reunified” with the mainland, if necessary with military force.
This time, the number of polling stations with more than 23 million inhabitants was greater than ever, with 17,794, as announced by the Central Electoral Commission.
The status of Taiwan, which is recognized as independent by only a few, mainly small, countries, is also one of the main points of conflict between the US and China. Taiwan has been autonomous since 1949. At that time, Mao Zedong's communists defeated the nationalist Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek in the Chinese Civil War, who then retreated to the island of Taiwan and ruled there authoritarianly for decades. Many states do not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan out of consideration for the People's Republic of China. The US abandoned it in favor of China in 1979. However, the US supports the country with military equipment. Taiwan is economically important due to the semiconductor industry located there. The world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC, is headquartered there.
The 19.5 million eligible voters are also called upon to elect a new parliament. This includes 113 seats. The majority of deputies are directly elected, while the smallest number of seats are determined by party votes. A simple majority is sufficient for the direct election of representatives and the president. The new president takes office on May 20. (APA/dpa)