Taiwanese Vice President and ruling Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Ching-te (L) and vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (R) wave during a rally after winning the presidential elections in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday. Photo by Daniel Ceng/EPA-EFE
Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party declared victory in the country’s presidential race Saturday, earning an unprecedented third consecutive term for his party.
With nearly 100% of the vote counted as of Saturday evening local time, the official Central Election Commission reported Lai had 5.54 million votes, or 40.1%, while Hou Yu-ih of the main opposition Kuomintang garnered 4.66 million votes (33.4%) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party earned 3.69 million votes (26.4%). Advertisement
Lai’s victory marked the first time in since direct presidential elections began in 1996 that any party has won three consecutive four-year presidential terms in the Republic of China, as Taiwan is officially known.
The KMT’s Hou conceded defeat at 8 p.m. Saturday local time, appearing onstage at his campaign headquarters to break the news and congratulate Lai.
The results of the election won’t become official until confirmed by the Central Election Commission.
The DPP views Taiwan as a sovereign nation and notched another victory despite warnings from China that it is moving too close to the United States. Beijing continues to assert claims the island is part of its historic territory and has repeatedly vowed to seize control of what it considers a wayward province. Advertisement
Analysts viewed the election results as a snub to China, which during the eight years of the DPP’s rule have ramped up military and economic pressure on the island.
In his New Year’s Day address, Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted his country will “surely” be reunited with Taiwan, adding, “all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Taiwan has become a flashpoint in U.S-China relations. Washington sent the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson to an area of the Pacific Ocean east of the island on Thursday — a move interpreted by Taiwanese leaders as a warning to Beijing not to interfere with the election.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Chinese diplomat Liu Jianchao on Friday in the run-up to the election in which he “reiterated the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea,” according to the State Department.
