President-elect Lai Ching-te’s victory in Taiwan is very important for India

Taiwan’s incumbent Vice President and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te (also known by his Christian name William) has won the presidential election. Voting for both legislative and presidential elections took place in Taiwan on the 13th of January. DPP registered a historic win for the third time in a row.

After DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen completed 2 terms of the presidency, now her colleague Lai Ching-te will assume the presidency. The party is known for taking a stand for an autonomous and sovereign Taiwan against China. Tensions between China and Taiwan have increased in recent years. Owing to this, the recently concluded election was being watched closely at the international level.

Brigadier (Retd.) Hemant Mahajan

1. Objectives set by Lai Ching-te

Lai previously served as the mayor of Tainan City. He has said that he will continue to work towards national defence, economy and strengthening ties with democracy-friendly countries. Also, during the election campaign, he emphasised on continuing the resistance to China. ‘People will be included in our Government on the basis of merit rather than party interests. Thus, challenges can be effectively addressed, this Government will be inclusive and unite the Taiwanese people to face domestic as well as international challenges’, Lai said. He added that he would focus on diplomacy, stability, defence self-sufficiency, economy, energy, youth and quality of education.

2. Lai’s margin of victory

Lai received more than 50 lakh votes, according to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission. It is more than 40% of total votes. Kuomintang (KMT) Party candidate Hou Yu-ih ranked second with 33% of the vote share, while Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party ranked third with 26%. Although Hou Yu-ih and Ko Wen-je have conceded defeat, they too have not received a low number of votes, and this could prove challenging for Ching-te.

3. Challenges ahead of President-elect Lai Ching-te

Defying China’s pressure and threats of war, Taiwan’s citizens voted overwhelmingly and elected a person who would take a firm stand for their country’s autonomy as president. For the first time since elections began in Taiwan, the people have given a third consecutive term to a party. Due to this, all the tricks of China have failed, and a picture has been created that Taiwan is moving towards a more open democracy. This doesn’t mean that the President-elect Lai Ching-te will have an easy path forward. Questions like ‘What are the domestic and international challenges ahead of them ?’, ‘Will China be more aggressive towards Taiwan ?’, and ‘How close will the US be to this new Government ?’, will have to be addressed.

– Brigadier (Retd.) Hemant Mahajan, Pune (13.1.2024)