In a vote China called a choice between war and peace, Taiwan’s pro-independence party holds onto presidency
Children play in front of an image of a Taiwanese national flag as votes are counted in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Jan. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
DATE OF ELECTION
January 13
TYPE OF ELECTION
Presidential, parliamentary
WHO’S RUNNING
Taiwan elected Lai Ching-te as its new president, returning the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party to power in the seventh presidential election since those 20 or older were given the vote for head of the government in 1996. China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to invade the island, chose to focus on the DPP’s loss of its outright majority in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament. Lai, a medical researcher and former mayor, was buttressed by his running-mate Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s former top representative to the United States.
WHY IT MATTERS TO THE WORLD
China regularly sends navy ships and warplanes to areas near Taiwan in a campaign of harassment and intimidation. Despite having diplomatic relations with just 12 countries, Taiwan enjoys strong political and military relations with the U.S. and most other major nations.
China cut off almost all contact with Taiwan following the 2016 election of the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen as president and has sought to punish her administration through military threats, diplomatic isolation and the imposition of trade barriers. Those measures appear to have had almost no effect on the Taiwanese electorate, who overwhelmingly support the island’s de-facto independent status, along with a strong defense against Beijing’s threats.
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