Taiwan residents voted this Saturday to elect the island's new president. The result of the vote is proving crucial to continuing relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory. Follow the latest information.
12:23
The count is still ongoing
The count continues in Taipei as elsewhere in Taiwan. At the start of the evening, outgoing Vice President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was credited with 41.6% of the vote, according to official results covering more than 60% of polling stations, while his main voting opponent, Hou Yu-ih, candidate the Kuomintang (KMT), which favors rapprochement with Beijing, received 33.2% of the vote.
The counting in Taiwan is ongoing, Lai Ching-te is in the lead. Source: TF1 Info
12:21
PORTRAIT OF LAI CHING-TE
The portrait of the candidate currently at the top of the list can be found in the following article.
Published yesterday at 2:28 p.m.12:20
CANDIDATE LAI CHING-TE IN THE LEAD
Counting is still ongoing in Taiwan, but early partial results show Lai Ching-te in the lead with 41.6% of the vote. Taiwan's vice president is seen as “a serious threat” by Beijing because of his pro-independence positions.
12:02
WHO ARE THE THREE CANDIDATES?
Three candidates stood for this one-round presidential election. Favorite of the vote, the Vice President Lai Ching-te, the Democratic Progressive Party, is viewed by Beijing as “a serious threat.” face him, Hou Yu-ih, candidate of the Kuomintang, the largest opposition party, advocates rapprochement with Beijing. The third candidate, Ko Wen-je, from the small Taiwan People's Party, presents itself as anti-establishment. See the video below for details.
Taiwan: Presentation of the three candidatesSource: TF1 Info
11:57
Living with the threat of invasion
“The Taiwanese have been accustomed to Chinese demands for 70 years, to strong military pressure for 30 years, and to attack and invasion scenarios for 10 years. Whether it is likely or not is not the question, they live with it,” emphasizes Stéphane Corcuff, lecturer at Sciences-Po Lyon and specialist in the Chinese world, to LCI. “Every time there is a missile crisis or large-scale military exercises, Taiwanese people continue their daily lives as if none existed. Because they are obliged to do so,” he adds.
“They live with” the threat of an invasion from China, says researcher Stéphane Corcuff about the Taiwanese. Source: TF1 Info
11:20
RESULTS PUBLISHED IN REAL TIME
Unlike in France, the counting results are published in real time. In Taipei, the Taiwanese capital where the LCI special envoy is based, the DPP candidate William Lai is currently clearly in the lead with 38% of the vote. The final results will be announced by the electoral commission a little later in the evening.
In Taiwan, voters had until 4 p.m. to choose their president. In the seat of the ruling party DPP, activists are confident: here the results are published in real time and their candidate William Lai is currently well ahead with 38% of the vote @TF1Info pic.twitter.com/qzVhfLOnSG – Claire Cambier (@Claire_Cambier) January 13 2024
11:16
DIFFERENT OPINIONS
Relations between China and Taiwan are looming large in this election, but not all voters agree on how this neighbor should be treated. “For me it is a choice between peace and war, you have to choose the party that is against war,” said a Taiwanese leaving the polling station. “I think it's too extreme to say it's a choice between peace and war. It is a political slogan, but not a reality. There are other options than the extremes,” said another voter.
Taiwan: A vote dominated by the island's relations with ChinaSource: TF1 Info
10:48
LIVE FROM TAIPEI
Participation in Taipei is just over 70%, according to Claire Cambier, LCI special correspondent in Taiwan. It is very high, but lower than the last elections. Four years ago, in 2020, participation reached 75%. 17 million people vote in Taiwan.
Taiwan: just over 70% stake in TaipeiSource: TF1 Info
10:45
UNDERSTAND EVERYTHING ABOUT RELATIONS BETWEEN TAIWAN AND CHINA
The elections in Taiwan were dominated by the island's relations with China. Explanations in the video below.
Understanding Everything About Taiwan-China RelationsSource: TF1 Info
09:56
VOTER FROM AWAY
Many voters did not hesitate to travel to vote. According to a press release from the Taiwan Railway Company, 746,000 people were expected to take the train today, most of them returning to vote in their hometown, which is more than in 2020 (around 704,000). Taiwanese also returned to the country for the occasion as voting abroad was not permitted. In total, millions of Taiwanese went to the polls.
In 2020, participation was nearly 75% in this area of 23 million people.
09:54
“A COUNTRY OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY”
The offices are closed, but LCI met with voters to find out their expectations for these elections. The focus is on Taiwan's relations with its neighbor China, which claims the island and promises to “crush” any desire for independence.
“I think the problem in Taiwan is not determined by a party or its beliefs, but by the hostile attitude of an external force,” said a Taiwanese interviewed in the following report. “I hope that we remain a country of freedom and democracy,” hopes another.
Taiwan: Counting underway after presidential and parliamentary electionsSource: TF1 Info
09:47
PORTRAIT
The three candidates running in Taiwan's presidential election include Lai Ching-te, the current vice president. As a representative of the Democratic Progressive Party, the same party as Tsai Ing-wen, who has been the island's president for eight years, he has become the Black of Beijing. Find the portrait of the person presented as the favorite of the vote.
Published yesterday at 2:28 p.m.09:18
The polls close at 4:00 p.m.
With a time difference of seven hours between Paris and Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, it is already after 4 p.m. in the archipelago, where important elections are taking place. The polling stations are closed and counting can begin. The results of the presidential and parliamentary elections are expected in one round in the evening.
09:06
WEIBO BLOCKS A HASHTAG RELATED TO THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
The social network Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of the platform
“In accordance with applicable laws, regulations and guidelines, the content of this topic may not be posted,” Weibo laconically states when the hashtag “Taiwan election” is searched for.
The topic was viewed around 163.2 million times today after the polls opened.
08:03
KEYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE CHOICE
Taiwanese voters elect their new president. A crucial vote for the stability of the region. China, which claims sovereignty over the island, is trying to influence the election results. A stance that hardly goes down well with Washington, Taipei's main military backer.
Published yesterday at 2:08 p.m.08:01
GOOD MORNING
Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the election in Taiwan. Millions of residents are going to the polls today to choose their next president, despite growing threats from China, which claims the island and promises to “crush” any desire for independence. Here you will find highlights and key images on this topic.
Presidential election day in Taiwan this Saturday, January 13th. The island, located 180 kilometers east of China, is claimed by the communist country as its own territory. In this one-round election, three main candidates can come to power.
First, there is Lai Ching-te, current vice president and supporter of current President Tsai Ing-wen. If the latter supports the status quo with its Chinese neighbor, its party's candidate, the DPP, takes a more radical position and does not hesitate to reiterate that Taiwan is already an independent state. He is currently the main favorite of the election.
Two rivals to the favorite Lai-Ching-te
Another presidential contender: Hou Yu-ih, the KMT party candidate who is pushing for rapprochement with Beijing. However, he does not want “reunification” with Beijing, as he reiterated at a conference on Thursday. “Taiwan is a democratic and free country,” he said, and “whatever China thinks, public opinion in Taiwan wants us to maintain the status quo.”
Finally, according to observers, a third man also appears. This is Ko Wen-je from the TPP, Taiwan's small People's Party. The latter was portrayed as an outsider and promised to “change this country” by leaving the traditional parties. “Democracy is our most important asset in Taiwan!” he said during one of his campaign rallies. The former surgeon and former mayor of the capital Taipei is particularly targeting a younger and connected electorate in a country that has become heavily Westernized in the last twenty years.
On Thursday, China urged Taiwanese voters to make “the right choice” and criticized the “serious danger” Lai Ching-te would pose. The country's army, led by Xi Jinping, also reiterated a few hours later that it would not hesitate to “crush” the various attempts at independence on the island. The United States, Taiwan's main arms supplier, is also carefully monitoring the results of this election, which is particularly strategic for its influence in the region.
The editorial team of TF1info with AFP