Taiwan’s Presidential Election:
Taiwan’s presidential election came to an end on January 13. Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Ching-te and his partner Hsiao Bi-khim declared victory with 5.58 million votes. However, in the legislative election held at the same time, the Democratic Progressive Party was determined to be unable to win the majority alone. This is also the second step. After the term of former President Chen Shui-bian from 2000 to 2008, the DPP authorities once again faced the situation that “the government is small and the opposition is big.”
On the evening of January 13, in front of the Democratic Progressive Party’s “Lai Xiaopei” campaign headquarters in Taipei City, tens of thousands of supporters chanted “Hello President” amidst confetti flying in the sky to welcome the newly elected 16th President of the Republic of China. Lai Qingde and Vice President Xiao Meiqin.
According to the vote count announced by Taiwan’s Central Election Commission, “Lai Xiaopei” won the election with 5,586,019 votes, a vote rate of 40.05%; the Kuomintang’s “Hou Kangpei” ranked second with 4,671,021 votes, a vote rate of 33.49%; and the People’s Party’s “Ke “Excessive Match” received 3,690,466 votes, with a vote rate of 26.46%, ranking third. Before Lai Qingde came to power, Hou and Ke had appeared successively, announced their defeat, and called Lai Qingde to congratulate him.
In his speech to the crowd, Lai Ching-te first thanked his supporters for persisting until the last moment and using their incomparable courage to “defend democracy and victory, allowing Taiwan to continue to be a key word in the world.” He also said that Taiwan used this election to tell the world: “Between democracy and authoritarianism, we choose to stand on the side of the democratic camp. This is what this election campaign means to the world. In the future, Taiwan, the Republic of China, will continue to walk on the road to democracy with its international allies.”
Regarding the competition and divisions during the election process, Lai Ching-te promised that all conflicts would end with the end of the election. He will establish an open government and promote the politics of communication, participation, and cooperation, and he once again emphasized that “the Republic of China and Taiwan are our shared identity.”
Lai Qingde said that peace in China conforms to the interests of both sides of the Taiwan Strait
Earlier, at the international press conference held by Lai Ching-te on his victory, the international media who went to Taiwan to cover the election were still focused on how Lai Ching-te would handle the difficult cross-strait relations after taking office.
When asked by a “Bloomberg” reporter how will Taiwan’s semiconductor and other technology industries be mitigated after being elected and the risks of cross-strait conflict caused by the US-China trade war, Lai Ching-de promised to vigorously assist the semiconductor industry from material and equipment research and development to packaging and testing to form a better A complete industrial chain will allow semiconductors to further develop in Taiwan and thus benefit the world’s economic development.
He also emphasized that he would follow the steady cross-strait policy of current President Tsai Ing-wen. Lai Qingde said, “We have not made any provocations. Taiwan just wants to maintain a democratic and free-life order. As long as there is reciprocity and dignity, Taiwan is happy to cooperate with China.” Exchange and cooperate with each other and promote the support of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait to create peace and common prosperity.”
Later, the media further asked: Tsai Ing-wen has been in power for 8 years, and her repeated good intentions have been rejected by the Beijing authorities. How can Lai Qingde restart the dialogue? In this regard, Lai Qingde expressed the hope that, under the new situation, the Chinese government can realize that peace is consistent with It is in the interests of both sides, and stability in the Taiwan Strait is an essential element for world security and prosperity.
Blinken issued a message to congratulate Lai Qingde on his election
After confirming Lai’s election, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a written statement on Saturday (January 13) to congratulate him and praise the people of Taiwan for once again demonstrating the strength of their strong democratic system and electoral process.
Blinken said in the statement that the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to peacefully resolving differences without coercion or pressure, and is confident that Taiwan will continue to be a role model for all those who strive for freedom, democracy, and prosperity.
Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council: The DPP does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the “island.”
Regarding the results of the Taiwan election, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office responded as usual on the evening of the 13th. According to Taiwan’s “Central News Agency,” spokesperson Chen Binhua pointed out in a written statement that the DPP “does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island.” “This election “cannot change the basic pattern and development direction of cross-Strait relations, let alone block the general trend that the motherland will eventually be reunified and will inevitably be reunified.”
Chen Binhua also declared that China will work with relevant political parties, groups, and people from all walks of life in Taiwan to promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, promote the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, and “advance the great cause of the reunification of the motherland.”
According to the Chinese official media, “CCTV News,” the spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that “the Taiwan issue is China’s internal affairs. No matter how the situation on the Taiwan island changes, there is only one China in the world.” He also emphasized that he believes that the international community will continue to adhere to the One China principle and understand and support the Chinese people’s opposition to “Taiwan independence” separatist activities.
On Weibo, in the comment area of relevant reports, a large number of messages stated that “there is only one China” and “the reunification of the motherland is bound to win.” However, there were also messages with different views saying, “It’s okay to deceive others, but don’t deceive yourself too, “and some people said, “Don’t deceive everyone. None of the three people (Taiwan’s elected president) accepts reunification, and Hou (Youyi) has made it clear that he does not talk about reunification.”
Three days before the election, Chen Bin Huacai, spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, threatened that the “new situation” Lai Qingde wanted to create would be a dangerous situation in the Taiwan Strait, warning Taiwan compatriots to “make the right choice at the crossroads of where cross-Strait relations will go.” But it still couldn’t stop Lai Qingde from being elected. A Taiwanese party and government figure who did not want to be named due to his sensitive identity told the media after the election that this showed that the CCP’s all-out “mediation election” had completely failed.
The Kuomintang failed to return to power and Congress made huge gains
On the other hand, despite the election of Lai Ching-te, the Democratic Progressive Party broke Taiwan’s “eight-year curse” for the first time since 2000 that the ruling party would lose the election after two terms. Although the Kuomintang failed to win back power, it made great gains in the legislative elections held at the same time and regained its position as the largest party in Congress.
In his defeat speech, Hou Youyi said that he was very grateful to all regional and non-district legislative candidates for their assistance. This time the entire KMT party was united as never before, but it was a pity that the party rotation was not completed. Regarding the result of the presidential election, it was due to his insufficient personal efforts. He will shoulder all the blame and express his deepest apology to all his supporters.
Hou Youyi pointed out that democratic elections are the people’s decision. In addition to congratulating Lai Qingde and Xiao Meiqin on their election, I also hope that they will not disappoint the people’s expectations of the people in power and that the people in power must truly take the people’s voices to heart. This election process was very intense, but more importantly, I hope that all political parties will unite to face Taiwan’s challenges after the election and jointly face Taiwan’s various difficult challenges.
He said: “In particular, what impressed me most about this election campaign is that Taiwan is facing security issues across the Taiwan Strait and the relationship between the United States, China, and Taiwan. We really have to face it well so that the people of Taiwan can have a stable life. years.”
Hou Youyi emphasized that the DPP has not done well in the eight years since it has been in power. It must also listen to the people’s voices, expecting change. It must build a clean and efficient government—a government that the people of Taiwan expect and trust. This is all Man’s deepest hope.
Mr. Dong, a supporter of the Kuomintang at the vote counting site, said that democracy means taking responsibility for one’s own choices. Since young people have made their choice, the older generation can only respect it. As a loyal supporter of the Kuomintang, he said that he had witnessed the Kuomintang lose three elections in a row. In fact, he no longer felt disappointed this time. Anyway, it would be good to come back in four years.
Ko Wenzhe: The Popular Party has become a key opposition force
On the evening of the 13th, just after Hou Youyi gave his defeat speech, the People’s Party presidential candidate Ke Wenzhe and his deputy Wu Xinying also announced their defeat. He shouted to the supporters at the scene not to give up. The People’s Party has become a key opposition force. Many supporters shed tears. Not giving up tears.
Ke Wenzhe said that his candidacy was a “civic movement,” and he thanked the campaign team and supporters from all over the country who came forward.
In his speech, he said: “Under the pressure of blue and green, there are still so many people who are willing to come forward to help. They have never given up in the face of the high blue and green walls and have persisted until now. At least we have successfully proved to the world officially that there are more than just blue and green in Taiwan. And we have also proven to the world that democracy has always been Taiwan’s most important asset.” Ko Wenzhe also promised supporters that he would win more recognition in the next four years.
In the post-election press conference, Ko Wenzhe reviewed the reasons for his defeat. He believed that the People’s Party was still relatively weak due to citizens’ movements. On the “pre-election night” campaign, there were many people on the surface, but politics still had a secular side, which was not as good as after 40 years of operation. Or a 100-year-old party organization mobilization system.
As for publicity, it proves that relying solely on self-media at this stage is still unable to gain an advantage under the pressure of traditional media. Ko Wenzhe believes that he bears the greatest responsibility for losing the election, but resigning as party chairman will cause the People’s Party to fragment, and he will seriously train his successor in the future.
Compared to its victory in the presidential election, the Democratic Progressive Party only won 51 out of a total of 113 legislative seats. Not only did it fail to win more than half of the votes alone, it also gave up its position as the “largest party in Congress” to the Kuomintang, which won 52 seats. With 8 seats, he became a key minority in the Legislative Yuan.
Regarding this result, analysts are generally worried that in the next four years, Lai Qingde will face the challenge of being completely boycotted by the opposition parties during the period of former President Chen Shui-bian. Lai Qingde promised at the international press conference that the future personnel layout will be Adhering to the spirit of the “Grand Alliance of Democracy,” regardless of party affiliation, we will appoint people based on their talents. In our governance, we will also give priority to issues on which all parties have a consensus and seek the greatest common denominator in society.
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