Taipei: William Lai Ching-te from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has won Taiwan’s presidential election, despite warnings from China – which claims Taiwan as part of its territory – not to vote for him.
Lai, the current vice president, was in a three-way race with Hou Yu-ih from the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which was only founded in 2019.
Lai took 40.2 percent of votes cast, according to partial results from the Central Election Commission on Saturday.
Opponent Hou conceded defeat and congratulated Lai on his victory. He also apologised to KMT supporters for not being able to remove the DPP. Ko also conceded defeat.
“I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy,” Lai said in a victory speech where he thanked his two opponents for conceding. “We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy.”
He added that hoped for a return to “healthy and orderly” exchanges with China, reiterating his desire for talks based on dignity and parity.
The results were counted from 98 percent of polling stations across the island, according to the commission tally, which also showed that Hou had trailed with 33.4 percent of the vote.
Voters also elected politicians to Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature in elections closely watched by China and the United States.
Taiwan’s elections carry an outsized importance because of the territory’s disputed political status. While self-governing since the 1940s, China still claims the island and its outlying territories and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its ambitions.
In the run-up to the polls, China denounced Lai as a dangerous separatist, said he would be a threat to peace in the region if he won, and called the elections a choice between “peace and war”.
In his victory speech, Lai said the self-governed island had managed to see off attempts to influence the vote, in an apparent swipe at China. “The Taiwanese people have successfully resisted efforts from external forces to influence this election,” he said.
Lai has maintained that he is committed to peace and open to conditional engagement with Beijing, while also boosting the island’s defences.
But he also promised “to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threat and intimidation from China”.
China has stepped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years, periodically stoking worries about a potential invasion. Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a recent New Year’s address the “unification” of Taiwan with China was “inevitable“.
Agencies

KR Desk