Taiwan voters choose peace and stability

Jan 15, 2024, 08:52 am

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Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te, of Democratic Progressive Party’s celebrates his victory in the presidential elections with his supporters in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 13, 2024. / Source: AP Yonhap News

By Beijing correspondent Hong Soon-do

Taiwanese voters chose to maintain the current regime of peace and stability in the presidential election, which was widely viewed as a proxy battle between the U.S. and China.

As Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) secured victory in Saturday’s presidential election by defeating his rival Hou Yu-ih from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan has maintained its anti-China and U.S.-friendly stance. Foreign media outlets said that China’s excessive attack on Taiwan Strait has backfired in the election.

However, the election results are expected to have a significant impact on the global economy and Korea’s security and industry, a key military and economic ally of the United States, as well as intensifying competition between the U.S. and China around Taiwan Strait.

According to foreign media outlets on Sunday, Lai won Saturday’s presidential election by garnering 40.05 percent of the total ballots, giving the China-skeptic party a third consecutive term in office. Taiwan’s KMT party candidate Hou Yu-ih garnered 33.49% of the votes, with Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate Ko Wen-je receiving 26.45%.

It can be seen as the result of China’s military and economic pressure on Taiwan, and the anti-China sentiment among Taiwanese voters.

“We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy,” Lai said in his remarks after the victory.

However, Lai could face a tough challenge in gaining support for his policies and great scrutiny in the Legislature, after his party failed to secure an absolute majority in Saturday’s legislative elections. The DPP secured 51 seats, and the KMT 52.

The election results are expected to escalate the US-China conflict and the Cross-Strait conflict. Right now, China weighs on the possibility of expanding military and economic retaliation, such as routine military pressure on the Taiwan Strait and abolishing tariff cuts on Taiwanese products.

China’s foreign ministry reiterated its previous stance, saying, “The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair and changes to the situation on the island will not affect the fact that there is only one China in the world.” On the other hand, U.S. President Joe Biden refrained from making remarks that provoke China, saying the United States does not support the independence of Taiwan.

The escalating conflict between the U.S. and China is expected to have an impact on South Korea, which has a military and high-tech industrial alliance with the U.S. As summit diplomacy between South Korea and China is put to the test, the South Korean government’s choice is expected to narrow down.

An official at Seoul’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “We hope for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and peaceful development in China-Taiwan relations,” adding that the Korean government’s stance on Taiwan has not changed.

#Taiwan #presidential election #Lai Ching-te #China #U.S.