NEW DELHI: Taiwanese voters scripted history on Saturday as they voted back the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the third consecutive term. And party candidate Lai Ching-te, a doctor-turned politician popularly known as William Lai, who’s currently vice-president, will be the next President.
He got a little over 40 per cent of the vote, with his main rival Hou Yu-ih of KMT coming second and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the relatively new Taiwan People’s Party came a distant third.
Today, Taiwan has once again shown the world our people’s commitment to democracy… we’re grateful for the trust placed in us and remain committed to upholding peace in the Taiwan Strait and being a force for good in the international community, tweeted William.
None would have any issues with that statement barring China that has called him a “separatist” earlier. No wonder, a bristled China, despite all its misinformation campaign in the run-up to the poll, finds the grapes sour.
The results reveal that the Democratic Progressive Party cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island, Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said as reported by the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency.
Taiwan is China’s Taiwan, said Chen, adding that the elections will not change the basic landscape and development trend of cross-Strait relations.
In simultaneous elections held to the island’s 113-member legislature, the pro-China KMT emerged the single-largest party with 52 seats (a gain of 14 from the last elections); the DPP came second with 51 seats (a loss of 10 seats), the TTP got eight and the rest went to Independents. That should give some cheer to the Chinese who say Xi Jinping’s ‘national reunification’ dream is very much on the agenda. Our stance on resolving the Taiwan question and realizing national reunification remains consistent, and our determination is as firm as rock, said Chen.
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