Taiwan's Vice President Lai Ching-te won the presidential election on Saturday despite China's warnings of victory for the ruling party's candidate, whom it describes as a "dangerous separatist."
Lai's Progressive Democratic Party, which advocates Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims to the island, won a third consecutive four-year term, an unprecedented achievement under Taiwan's current electoral system.
"We have written a new page in the history of democracy in Taiwan," Lai, who was the frontrunner in the polls, told reporters after his two rivals conceded defeat.
Ahead of the election, China urged Taiwanese citizens to "make the right choice," citing the "extreme damage to the independence line" advocated by the ruling party. She rejected out of hand Lai's calls for talks between the two sides, although she did not explicitly endorse either of the other two candidates. Her most comfortable figure is Hu Yuyi of the largest opposition party, the pro-China Kuomintang.
Lai said he would maintain the status quo in relations, but added that he was "determined to defend Taiwan from threats and intimidation" from China. However, he stressed the need for cooperation and dialogue with Beijing on an equal basis as a "substitute for confrontation," without elaborating.
The election was not just about relations with China, but also about voters' concerns about issues like housing prices, low wages and problems with electricity supply. This was reflected in Lai winning about 40 percent of the vote, compared to current and outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen, who garnered more than half of the vote four years ago. The constitution prohibited Tsai from running for a second and third term.
In addition, the ruling party has lost control of parliament, so the new president, who will take office in May, may find it difficult to advance legislation. He reached out to his adversaries and said he would cooperate with them to advance a solution to the problems facing Taiwan.
Third and final place in the election went to former Taipei Mayor Ko Won-jae of the People's Party of Taiwan, who changed the local political landscape and managed to attract hundreds of thousands of young people to his rallies during the campaign.
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