BREAKING: Lai Ching-te of ruling DPP wins Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, as voters dismiss Beijing’s warnings
Hong Kong Free Press
By Tom Grundy, Kelly Ho, Irene Chan and Mercedes Hutton in Taipei.
Lai Ching-te, of the ruling, liberal Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has won the 2024 Taiwan presidential election following a tight race. With the outgoing Tsai Ing-wen reaching her term limit, Lai has vowed to continue her efforts to strengthen diplomatic and military ties in order to fend off Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own.
Delivering his victory speech to international media on Saturday night, Lai thanked the people of Taiwan and his fellow candidates, calling the island’s election “one of the first and most highly anticipated elections of 2024.”
“I want to thank the Taiwan people for writing a new chapter in our democracy,” Lai said in Mandarin, speaking to foreign press through an interpreter.
“We want to show the world how much we cherish our democracy, this is our unwavering commitment,” he added.
Lai, 64, beat the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih, an ex-police chief who favoured more trade and dialogue with Beijing, who conceded defeat just before 8 pm. Speaking to KMT supporters at an election night event in New Taipei City, Hou apologised for the result and congratulated his opponent Lai.
Wildcard candidate Ko Wen-je, of the new, centre-left Taiwan’s People Party, also conceded defeat shortly after 8 pm. He said his campaign has been a “citizen movement” as he thanked running mate, Cynthia Wu, and TPP’s supporters across Taiwan.
As of 8.30 pm on Saturday, Lai had 5,495,269 votes – or 40.1 per cent – with over 98 per cent of polling stations reporting, according to the Central Election Commission.
Before becoming mayor of the southern city of Tainan, Lai was a doctor and then lawmaker. He originally challenged Tsai to the presidency, before becoming her running mate and – ultimately – vice-president in 2020.
He ran alongside Taiwan’s former representative to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, who will become the island’s next vice-president when the pair take office on May 20.
Voters reject ‘war versus peace’ warnings
Taiwan has been awash with election promotions during months of vibrant campaigning and colourful rallies. Political scandals, misinformation, and debates over identity have also, however, been rife.
The two opposition parties sought to appeal to younger voters and those disillusioned following eight years of DPP rule. However, their efforts to form an electoral alliance last year fell apart, with voters – on Saturday – ignoring the KMT’s insistence that a vote for the DPP would pave the way for war.
All candidates had rejected Beijing’s vision of a Hong Kong-style One Country, Two Systems arrangement for the island, whilst also ruling out an explicit declaration of independence.
See also: Explainer: Is Taiwan a country? The democratic island’s tangled history
Beijing, too, framed the race as a choice between war and peace, having stepped up military drills around Taiwan, spread electoral misinformation, and sanctioned Western defence firms over arms sales to Taipei.
“The People’s Liberation Army is on high vigilance at all times and will take all necessary measures to resolutely crush any form of secessionist designs for ‘Taiwan independence’,” its defence ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Despite the sabre-rattling, HKFP found that many voters were also concerned with domestic issues, such as the economy, healthcare, rising property prices, inflation and a low birth rate.
See also: For young voters, domestic policies and personality matter for their next president
US intelligence agencies have said that Beijing intends to make a move on Taiwan, but the timing has not been set. US President Joe Biden has vowed, four times, to defend the island from attack, though it is uncertain as to whether Washington would directly involve itself in a conflict.
The “two Chinas” and the threat of unification – click to view.
The Republic of China government has ruled Taiwan since 1945 after Japan was defeated in World War II, ending 50 years of occupation. The ROC authorities fully retreated to the island in 1949 as the communist People’s Republic of China defeated them in the Civil War and took control of the mainland. Beijing has since claimed Taiwan is one of its provinces and has threatened to unify it by force if necessary, despite never ruling the island.
Analysts have said that further military drills by Beijing could be expected under a continuing DPP presidency, as was the case when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022 visit, or when Tsai “transited” in the US last year.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Beijing to maintain cross-strait stability.
More to follow – refresh for updates.
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