Taiwan’s vice president, Lai Ching-te, who has faced sustained hostility from China, won the island democracy’s presidential election on Saturday, a result that could prompt Beijing to step up pressure on Taiwan, deepening tensions with Washington.
For many of the millions of Taiwanese citizens who lined up at ballot booths on Saturday, the vote centered on the question of who should lead Taiwan in an increasingly tense standoff with its much larger, autocratic and heavily armed neighbor, China.
They chose Mr. Lai, of the governing Democratic Progressive Party, or D.P.P., which wants to keep steering Taiwan away from Beijing’s influence, over the opposition Nationalist Party, which has vowed to expand trade ties and restart talks with China. After most of the votes had been counted, Mr. Lai’s main opponent, Hou Yu-ih of the opposition Nationalist Party conceded, apologizing to his supporters at a party event.
The election drew a strong voter turnout of nearly 70 percent. In the afternoon, the main parties held gatherings for supporters to watch as the votes were being counted after the polls closed at 4 p.m.
At the D.P.P.’s gathering outside its headquarters in Taipei, thousands of supporters, many of whom waved pink and green flags, cheered as Mr. Lai’s lead grew during the counting of the votes, which was displayed on a large screen on an outdoor stage. Many described feeling hopeful that a Lai presidency would protect Taiwan’s sovereignty and unique identity.
“I support Lai Ching-te because I believe he will uphold the democratic values of Taiwan,” said Huang I-hsuan, 45, a financial analyst who was at the gathering.
In some polling stations, lines began forming even before voting started in the morning, with many multigenerational families showing up in groups. Taiwanese citizens, who must vote in person, fanned out to reach nearly 18,000 polling stations in temples, churches, community centers and schools across the island.
Mr. Lai had been widely seen as the front-runner. But in the days leading up to the vote, the race was too close to call.
Mr. Hou, the Nationalist candidate, had narrowed Mr. Lai’s lead to only a few percentage points in many polls in recent weeks. He had promised to ease tensions with Beijing, arguing that stronger ties with China would help reduce the risk of conflict.
And Ko Wen-je, the Taiwan People’s Party’s candidate who had sought to appeal to voters fed up with the two established parties, despite falling in the polls, had continued to draw large numbers to his rallies, including nearly 200,000 people on Friday night.
One of Mr. Ko’s supporters, Jessica Chou, 25, said she thought that the D.P.P. had pushed Taiwan too close to Washington, and that she hoped the next leader would keep a distance from both the global powers.
“I’m worried about China, but I also think that we can’t always rely on the United States,” Ms. Chou said, as she came out of the school where she said she had voted…
2024-01-13 07:15:22
Post from www.nytimes.com
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