Taiwan ignores warnings to elect president dubbed 'troublemaker' by China

13 January 2024 , 19:20

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William Lai is also known as Lai Ching-te (Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Voters in Taiwan ignored ­warnings from China as the ruling party’s candidate William Lai won the island’s presidential election yesterday.

Beijing had described the election as a choice between war and peace – but the Democratic Progressive Party rejects China ’s territorial claims. It is the first time a political party in Taiwan has won a third straight presidential election.

Lai – branded a “troublemaker” by China – will take over from outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen. He said: “I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy.

Lai casting his vote in the election (Anadolu via Getty Images)

“We have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy... Taiwan has achieved a victory for the community of democracies. Through our actions, the Taiwanese people have successfully resisted efforts from external forces to influence our elections. We trust that only the people of Taiwan have the right to choose their own president,” he added.

China opposes Taiwanese independence. Beijing sees the island as a breakaway province that should be part of China and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve this.

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