Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party secured an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term on Saturday, with the party’s candidate, current Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te, winning 40% of the ballot.
He defeated Hou You-ih, a presidential candidate for the China-friendly opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) and a former police chief, as well as Ko Wen-je, the presidential candidate of Taiwan People’s Party, who has tried to present his party as an alternative to the two main parties.
During his victory speech, Lai said his win on Saturday is a victory for the global community democracies.
“We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy,” he told a room of more than 100 local and international journalists.
He noted that Taiwanese people have successfully resisted external forces’ attempts to interfere in the election, hinting at the wide range of tactics used by China during the months-long presidential campaign. “We trust that only the people of Taiwan have the right to choose their own president,” he added.
Because he and his vice-presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-Khim received the most votes in the election, Lai said Taiwan will continue to “walk on the right path forward.”
“We will not turn around or look backward,” he emphasized.
Reiterating his commitment to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, Lai expressed his willingness to engage with Beijing on the basis of dignity and parity.
“We will use exchanges to replace obstructionism, dialogue to replace confrontation, and confidently pursue exchanges and cooperation with China,” he said.
Some analysis said that the other side of the result shows Lai is winning “weakly”, since the votes for the other two parties take 59.95% of the total votes, surpasses Lai’s votes. It means that around 60% of the Taiwanese voters do not wish him to be the president.
Some text taken from VOA News