TAIPEI, Jan 14 – An olive branch extended to the opposition and also to China – that was what Taiwan’s newly elected leader William Lai Ching-te did in his first remarks after securing the presidency for the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Saturday (Jan 13).
In his victory speech delivered at a press conference at 8.30pm, he said: “Under the principles of dignity and parity, we will use exchanges to replace obstructionism, dialogue to replace confrontation, and confidently pursue exchanges and cooperation with China.
“This furthers the wellbeing of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and achieves our objective of peace and common prosperity.”
Mr Lai won 40.05 per cent of the vote, comfortably ahead of the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Mr Hou Yu-ih with 33.49 per cent and the Taiwan People’s Party’s (TPP) Dr Ko Wen-je with 26.46 per cent, according to the Central Election Commission.
Mr Lai, the former mayor of Tainan, is a noted proponent of Taiwan’s independence. His rivals and critics have said his election would endanger Taiwan and threaten peace with China.
But his win was not a surprise, given that the vice-president, 64, had led in opinion polls months before Polling Day.
His rivals conceded defeat a mere four hours after voting closed, but Mr Lai could face an uphill battle ahead with the DPP losing its legislative majority.
The KMT secured the most legislative seats – 52 out of 113 – but fell short of a majority. The DPP won 51 seats and the TPP won eight seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.
This means that while the DPP’s win marks the first time a party has won a third consecutive term since direct presidential elections began in Taiwan in 1996, Mr Lai will have to govern with a hung parliament that could make it more difficult to push through new laws.
He said he had accepted his rivals’ congratulatory phone calls, and in turn congratulated them for increasing their seats in the legislature.
Mr Lai succeeds outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen, who cannot run for re-election after serving two consecutive terms.
