[대만 총통선거 친미반중 승리]
‘Pro-American’ Lai Ching-de elected president with 40% of votes
“Taiwan will stand on the side of democracy.”
US: Relations with Taiwan will expand and deepen
In Taiwan’s presidential election on the 13th, which was the first presidential election in a major country in 2024, an ‘election year’, and was held in the nature of a proxy war between the United States and China, Lai Ching-de of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has strong anti-China and independence tendencies, was elected. ·65) The candidate won. With his election, Taiwan is expected to strengthen its current structure of cooperating with the United States to keep China in check. In response, China is likely to mobilize all economic, diplomatic, and military means to increase pressure on Taiwan and tame it, which could shake up the situation in the Taiwan Strait. Some point out that Korea, where direct and indirect repercussions are inevitable, must respond carefully.
According to Taiwan’s Election Commission, President-elect Lai received 40.1% of the votes (5,586,019 votes) on this day, compared to Hou Yu-yi (侯友宜) of the pro-China main opposition Kuomintang (33.5% of the votes, 4,671,021 votes) and the second opposition People’s Party. He beat candidate Ke Wen-je (26.4% of the votes, 3,690,466 votes). As a result, the Democratic Progressive Party succeeded in taking power for the third consecutive time.
At a press conference, President-elect Lai said, “In 2024, the international election year, Taiwan has achieved the first victory of the democratic camp,” adding, “Taiwan has chosen to stand on the side of democracy between democracy and authoritarianism.” This means that in a confrontation between the pro-US and anti-China line and the pro-China line, public sentiment chose the former. He also seemed to be aware of China’s military threat, which continued throughout the election period, and said, “The Taiwanese people have taken action to resist the intervention of an external force (China).”
It is analyzed that the reason for President-elect Lai’s victory was the threat from China and former President Ma Ying-jeou’s statement that “Taiwan must trust Xi Jinping” from the Kuomintang Party, which stimulated voters’ anti-China sentiment and rallied the support base of the Democratic Progressive Party. . The performance of candidate Kerr, who became the first third-party candidate to surpass the 20% mark in vote share, also dispersed voters who wanted a change in government and those who supported the opposition.
However, in the Legislative Council (National Assembly) election held on the same day, the Democratic Progressive Party won 51 out of 113 seats, giving up the largest party to the People’s Party (52 seats). President-elect Lai failed to receive a majority of votes and was pushed to the second largest party in the National Assembly, increasing uncertainty not only in the management of politics but also in cross-strait relations (China and Taiwan).
The US administration of Joe Biden welcomed his victory, saying, “The relationship between the US and Taiwan based on democracy will expand and deepen.” China said, “The Democratic Progressive Party has a gap with Taiwan’s mainstream public sentiment. He expressed his discomfort by saying, “Unification of the country is inevitable.”
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.