News Brief
In A Setback To China, Lai Ching-Te Wins Presidential Election In Taiwan Even After "Psychological Warfare"
Nishtha Anushree
Jan 14, 2024, 03:55 PM | Updated 03:55 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Against China's wishes, the ruling party in Taiwan won the elections on Saturday (13 January) as its presidential candidate Lai Ching-te defeated the main opposition party the Kuomintang's (KMT) Hou Yu-ih.
Lai's Democratic Progressive Party (LPP) champions a separate identity for Taiwan and rejects China's territorial claims. The party won a third term and a second term consecutively.
This comes after Taiwan's defence ministry accused China last week of endangering aviation safety and engaging in psychological warfare by deploying numerous balloons near or over the island, just days before crucial elections.
After the victory, Lai posted on X, "Today, Taiwan has once again shown the world our people’s commitment to democracy... Looking forward, we remain committed to upholding peace in the Taiwan Strait and being a force of good in the international community."
Historically, the KMT has supported strong ties with China, though it denies being pro-Beijing. He had accused Lai of supporting Taiwan's formal independence.
On the other hand, Global Times had described Lai as an "extremist" supporter of independence, emphasising the potential for military confrontation across the Taiwan Strait if he is elected.
Lai had to defeat two opponents for the presidency - the KMT's Hou and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the small Taiwan People's Party, which was founded in 2019, Economic Times reported.
Before voting, Lai had urged voters to cast votes and appealed to them to do this for "Taiwan's hard-earned democracy."
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.