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| Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim attend a rally, following the victory in the presidential elections, in Taipei, Taiwan, January 13, 2024. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins |
Taiwan voters rebuff China and give ruling party third presidential term
By Yimou Lee and James Pomfret
January 13, 20242:10 PM GMT
TAIPEI, Jan 13 (Reuters) - Taiwanese voters swept the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) presidential candidate Lai Ching-te into power on Saturday, strongly rejecting Chinese pressure to spurn him, as Lai pledged both to stand up to Beijing and seek talks.
Lai's party, which champions Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims, was seeking a third successive four year term, unprecedented under Taiwan's current electoral system.
"We've written a new page for Taiwan's history of democracy," Lai, long the frontrunner in the polls, told reporters after both his opponents conceded defeat.
In the run-up to the election, China denounced Lai as a dangerous separatist, and called on the people of Taiwan to make the right choice while noting the "extreme harm of the DPP's 'Taiwan independence' line". They have also repeatedly rebuffed Lai's calls for talks.
Lai said he would maintain the status quo in cross-strait relations, but that he was "determined to safeguard Taiwan from threats and intimidation from China".
At the same time, he emphasised the need for cooperation and dialogue with Beijing on an equal basis to "replace confrontation", though he didn't give specifics.
Beijing has yet to comment on Lai's victory.
The election was not only about China, with electors worried about issues as varied as the high cost of housing, low wage growth and unstable power supplies.
Lai won 40% of the vote in Taiwan's first-past-the-post system, unlike current President Tsai Ing-wen who was re-elected by a landslide four years ago with more than 50% of the vote.
The DPP also lost its control of parliament, Lai said, which could hamper his ability to pass legislation and spending bills.
However, he offered an olive branch to his opponents in saying he would include talent from their parties.
Lai said he would cooperate with his electoral rivals, Hou Yu-ih of Taiwan's largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party, in resolving the problems Taiwan faces.
During the polls, hundreds of thousands of Taiwanese youths flocked to rallies held by Ko, who has emerged as a new force in Taiwan's political landscape with roughly a quarter of the vote despite coming last.
The full results of the parliamentary polls were expected later on Saturday evening, with around 70% of the island's 19 million or so eligible voters having cast ballots.
Tsai was constitutionally barred from standing again after two terms in office.⍐
Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; additional reporting by Sarah Wu and James Pomfret; Editing by Toby Chopra, Kirsten Donovan and Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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The KMT’s presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and the TPP's Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) officially conceded defeat.8pm: As for the party vote, only the DPP, KMT and TPP have passed the 5% threshold to appoint legislators-at-large. The DPP is ahead with 36.54%, with the KMT close behind with 34.46% and the TPP at 21.84%. At only 2.54%, the NPP looks like it will lose its three current seats.
7:50pm: Taitung County is to flip to the KMT for the first time since 2010 after a split green vote. Incumbent Liu Chao-hao (劉櫂豪) decided to run as an independent after losing the DPP primary to former legislator Lai Kun-cheng (賴坤成).
7:45pm: The KMT has nabbed another seat in Taipei, with City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) set to represent the seventh constituency (Xinyi and southern Songshan). Hsu has been a rising star in the KMT, vocal in her criticism of the government’s handling of an egg shortage last year and other hot-button issues.
7:40pm: With 87% of polling locations reporting now, Lai is still comfortably in the lead with 40.73% of the vote. Hou has 33.27% and Ko has 26.01%, according to the official CEC tally.
7:30pm: In another blow to the DPP, Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) was unable to unseat the KMT’s Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) in Taipei’s third constituency (Zhongshan/northern Songshan), who took over the seat vacated by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安).
7:10pm: Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) of the KMT has upset the DPP’s Kao Chia-yu (高嘉瑜), who was looking to retain her seat representing Taipei’s fourth district including Neihu (內湖) and Nangang (南港) districts. Kao is known for her advocacy for victims of domestic abuse after she herself successfully brought charges against an ex-boyfriend.
7:05pm: Kaohsiung City Councilor Huang Jie (黃捷) is to enter the national legislature after declaring victory in Kaohsiung’s sixth district. A former New Power Party member who joined the DPP last year, Huang was nominated after the DPP dropped Legislator Chao Tian-lin (趙天麟) for having an affair with a Chinese woman.
7pm: In an unsurprising result, the DPP looks set to sweep all six districts in the traditional green stronghold of Tainan.
6:50pm: Incumbent KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君) declared victory in Nantou County’s first district. Ma has come under fire in recent months for allegedly passing classified materials on Taiwan’s indigenous submarine program to South Korea and attempting to obstruct defense projects.
6:40pm: In Taichung, the KMT looks likely to flip four seats from the DPP, raising their tally from only two out of the city’s eight districts to six.
6:20pm: Voter turnout for the presidential election has hovered around 69% so far. That’s less than the 75% seen in 2020, but would beat the 66% from 2016 if the number holds.
6:10pm: Former KMT legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恆) declared victory in the race to regain his seat representing Taichung’s second district from Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) of the DPP. He was unseated in 2020 by the Taiwan Statebuilding Party’s Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟), who was recalled in 2021 and replaced by Lin.
6pm: Two hours after polling closed, and the official CEC count has Lai comfortably ahead at 43.27%, Hou second with 34.01% and Ko trailing at 22.72%, with 1,841 polling places out of 17,795 (10%) reporting.
5:40pm: The National Police Agency reported 92 legal violations at the polls, 49 of which involved taking photos of a ballot or bringing a phone or recording equipment into the voting booth, and 13 were for campaigning.
5pm: Legislator Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) of the DPP was the first to declare victory in his bid for re-election in Tainan’s fifth district over an opponent from the small MiLinguall Party, despite no votes having been counted.
4:50pm: Results have begun to trickle in, with most tallies putting the DPP’s William Lai slightly ahead of the KMT’s Hou You-yi. But with only 50 minutes since the polls closed, it’s still too early to say.
4pm: Polls close
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People line up to vote in New Taipei City’s Banciao District on Saturday. Photo: CNA |
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