Taiwan’s ruling-party candidate won the presidential election

The Taiwan People’s Party (Taipei) Campaign: Early Results and Next-Generation Plan Among Young Voters

Besides the China tensions, domestic issues dominated the campaign, particularly an economy that was estimated to have grown just 1.4% last year. That partly reflects inevitable cycles in demand for computer chips and other exports from the high-tech, heavily trade-dependent manufacturing base, and a slowing of the Chinese economy. But longer-term challenges such as unaffordable housing and wage stagnation topped voters’ concerns. The candidate with the most votes wins, with no runoff. There are at-large seats and districts in the legislative races.

In his victory speech, Lai said Taiwan is willing to talk to China “on the basis of dignity and parity”, but he also said his administration will be “determined” to safeguard Taiwan from threats and intimidation from China.

Friday night was the end of the campaigns and the speeches were stirring, but younger voters were focused on the economic futures of their children.

The alternative candidate for the Taiwan People’s Party, Ko Wen-je, who has gained a following among young voters, was in Taipei to vote. Ko, in his dry manner, said he meant to plan for the next stage when he gets there and would try his best every day. Voting began at 8 a.m. on Saturday and was to end eight hours later.

Taiwanese Electoral Campaign: Lai’s Election as a Disruption from the First Two Terms of Taiwan’s Independent Party

At stake is the peace and stability of the island 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of China that Beijing claims as its own, to be retaken by force if necessary. Domestic issues such as the sluggish economy and expensive housing also featured prominently in the campaign.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese are casting their votes Saturday for a new president and legislature in an election that could chart the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s relations with China over the next four years.

Lai’s election represents a rebuke, of sorts. The first two terms were held by the party that got its start in the 1980s trying to get formal independence for Taiwan. The party now stands for a distinct Taiwan identity.

While failing to win the presidency, Taiwan’s first-ever competitive third party, the TPP, won eight seats, giving the party leverage over the KMT and DPP parties; they will need to court TPP legislators in order to pass defense policies and pass budgets.

After a month of intense campaigning from all three parties, this year’s election came after they all made the case that they would improve the island’s economy while protecting it from China, which wants to one day control the island.

The political science lecturer at the university said that Beijing will use more diplomatic, economic and informational warfare than the military approach. We still have to be ready.

Shortly after Lai’s victory speech on Saturday night, the Chinese government’s Taiwan Affairs Office issued a statement. “Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing national reunification is a determination that is firm as rock, and our stance on that remains consistent,” it said.

Taiwan’s two-party presidential election: The long-term state of affairs in the light of the Kuomintang party and the Taiwan People’s Party

Saturday’s voting closed at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with the Kuomintang (KMT) party conceding the presidential race before 8 p.m. About 75 percent of the island’s eligible voters cast ballots.

“I’m sorry I disappointed my supporters, and I would like to apologize,” KMT’s Hou told the media. Ko Wen-je, of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), also conceded defeat.

The presidential election on Saturday was close and with one candidate winning more than 5 million votes, or 40 percent of the popular vote. It fell short of the more than 8 million votes his predecessor won during the island’s last elections in 2020.

The electorate is divided over issues of identity and relations with China, and as a result, the next president of Taiwan is facing a lot of obstruction from political rivals.

The rise of the TPP in Taiwan’s traditionally two-party political system has reflected voter fatigue with the perceived corruption and ideological rigidity of both the DPP and the KMT, the island’s more established parties, analysts say.

Younger voters have been drawn to the TPP because it promises to tackle rising home prices and spend more on healthcare and rent subsidies.

“The price for housing is crazy, and the economy is going down,” said Kevin Ko, 29, a project manager at a technology company in Taipei. Is Taiwan really getting better, despite the fact that our generation of 30-40 year oldsvoting in elections a lot?

In his victory speech, the leader acknowledged that his party didn’t have a majority in parliament. “The elections have told us that people expect an effective government as well as strong checks and balances,” Lai said, adding that he will cooperate with opposition parties to resolve the problems Taiwan faces.

But where U.S. policy on Taiwan heads after the U.S. presidential election in November remains a question mark. Some members of former President Donald Trump’s administration, including his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have voiced support for non-traditional positions, like offering Taiwan formal diplomatic recognition, which could trigger a crisis.

Beijing wanted to put a stop to a victory for the man who was labeled a dangerous advocate of Taiwan independence. The election could be called a choice between war and peace.

Still, Lewis noted that on China policy, the amount of daylight between Lai and his main rival, Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang Party (KMT), was limited, highlighting where public opinion in Taiwan stands.

“It’s not a stark black or white choice between two differing views on how to handle cross-strait affairs,” she said. The KMT and Hou want more engagement, while Lai favors less reliance on China.

The Taiwan Affairs Office in Beijing says the results show that the Democratic Progressives Party can’t represent the public opinion on the island.

China’s communist party severed formal talks after the democrats took office and since then has been increasing military activity around the island.

The outcome has to be dealt with at this time, when it might not be in the interests of the mainland to have an armed conflict.

At the same time, Zhao said, many in China worry that U.S. policy toward Taiwan is shifting, and the chances of “reunification” by peaceful means are further waning as a result.

Beijing seems likely to continue to shun exchanges with the DPP-led government of Taiwan, according to Gabriel Wildau, an analyst at the consultancy Teneo.

Wildau said the election outcome might force mainland leaders to reexamine their freezeout policy. He said that may lead to “lower-profile exchanges” between the two sides.

The Biden administration is sending a delegation of former officials to Taiwan following the election, in a move that a senior administration official earlier this past week said was standard. The administration promised to maintain dialogue with Beijing.