TTaiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te won Saturday's presidential election, giving the ruling Progressive Party (DPP) a third consecutive term in office for the first time since free elections were introduced in 1996. Lai received forty percent of the vote. His two challengers, Hou Yu-ih from the KMT National Party and Ko Wen-je from the People's Party, received 33 and 26 percent of the vote, respectively. Both admitted defeat and congratulated the winner. In his victory speech, Lai once again promised to continue outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen's course of keeping Taiwan out of China's orbit and maintaining the status quo.
“Taiwan has told the world that between democracy and authoritarianism, we stand on the side of democracy and will continue to move forward side by side with the world's democracies,” Lai said. Beijing has not had any official contacts with the Taiwanese government since the DPP took office in 2016 and has described Lai as a “secessionist.”
In his speech, Lai called for a reduction in tensions and urged China to find ways of communication. The aim is to “replace confrontation with dialogue and continue the exchange with China with confidence.” However, the prerequisite for this is that both sides meet with dignity and on an equal footing, Lai said in front of the DPP headquarters in Taipei. Tsai has had a similar approach over the past few years argued.
Younger Taiwanese in particular were dissatisfied
At the same time, however, the Progress Party lost its majority in parliament. This will make Taiwan's government more unstable in the coming years and could make reform and armaments projects more difficult. Younger Taiwanese in particular had expressed dissatisfaction with the increased cost of living, low wages and alleged cases of corruption. Lai openly acknowledged this on Saturday. The DPP has “many areas that need improvement,” he said. “The elections showed us that people want effective government and strong control.”
He respects that and will work closely with the other parties to this end. After a tough election campaign, it is now a matter of bringing the Taiwanese people together and also hearing the voices of the other parties, whose plans he wants to study closely.
Beijing's first statement
The People's Republic of China, which had previously described the Taiwan election as a choice between war and peace, said in an initial statement that the election “could neither change the basic pattern and direction of relations between the two sides of the Strait” nor could it “The trend will be stopped that the motherland will eventually and inevitably be reunified,” as the Taiwan Office of the People’s Republic said. This was neither a rhetorical escalation nor an indication that China's pressure on Taiwan was easing.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Lai on his victory. “We also congratulate the people of Taiwan, who have once again demonstrated the strength of their robust democratic system and electoral process,” Blinken said in a written statement. According to the Bloomberg news agency, US President Joe Biden also stated on Saturday that Washington does not support Taiwan's independence.
The current government will remain in office until Lai is inaugurated on May 20. This phase, which is now beginning, is considered critical. Especially since some expect Beijing to conduct military maneuvers during this time with the aim of punishing, warning or deterring the outgoing or new government. At the same time, the current temporary thaw between China and America and the beginning of the election campaign in the USA do not yet indicate that Beijing wants to escalate right now.