Ruling-party candidate William Lai emerged victorious in Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, a result that will determine the trajectory of the self-ruled democracy’s contentious relations with China over the next four years.
China had called the poll a choice between war and peace. Beijing strongly opposes Lai, the current vice president who abandoned his medical career to pursue politics from the grassroots to the presidency.
At stake is peace, social stability and prosperity on the island, 160km off the coast of China, which Beijing claims as its own and to be retaken by force if necessary. China is run by the Chinese Communist Party, which allows no political opposition.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
While domestic issues such as the sluggish economy and expensive housing also featured prominently in the campaign, Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) appeal to self-determination, social justice and rejection of China’s threats ultimately won out. It’s the first time a single party has led Taiwan for three consecutive four-year presidential terms since the first open presidential election in 1996.
Lai and President Tsai Ing-wen reject China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, a former Japanese colony. They have, however, offered to speak with Beijing, which has repeatedly refused to hold talks and called them separatists.
Beijing was believed to have favored the candidate from the more China-friendly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), also known as Kuomintang, or KMT. Its candidate, Hou You-yi, also had promised to restart talks with China while bolstering national defense. He had vowed not to move toward unifying the two sides of the Taiwan Strait if elected.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
In his concession speech, Hou apologized for “not working hard enough” to regain power for the KMT, which ran Taiwan under martial law for nearly four decades before democratic reforms in the 1980s.
A third candidate in the race, Ko Wen-je of the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), had drawn the support particularly of young people wanting an alternative to the KMT and DPP, Taiwan’s traditional opposing parties, which have largely taken turns governing since the 1990s.
Ko said that dialogue between the sides was crucial, but that his bottom line would be that Taiwan needs to remain democratic and free.
Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社
Chen Binhua, spokesperson of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that Beijing wouldn’t accept the election result as representing “the mainstream public opinion on the island,” without giving any evidence or justification.
The United States, which is bound by its laws to provide Taiwan with the weapons needed to defend itself, had pledged support for whichever government emerges, reinforced by the Biden administration’s plans to send an unofficial delegation made up of former senior officials to the island shortly after the election.
Lai won nearly 5.6 million votes, amassing just over 40 percent, while Hou claimed 33.5 percent and Ko garnered 26.5 percent.
Photo: Bloomberg 照片：彭博社
(AP)
台灣1月13日舉行總統大選，執政黨候選人賴清德勝出，選舉結果將決定台灣這自治民主國家與中國間之爭議關係未來四年的走向。
中國稱這次選舉是戰爭與和平之間的選擇。北京強烈反對現任副總統賴清德。賴清德棄醫從政，由基層做到總統。
這座距離中國海岸160公里的島嶼，其和平、社會穩定與繁榮受到威脅。北京聲稱對該島擁有主權，且會在必要時以武力奪回該島。中國是共產黨統治的國家，不允許任何政治反對派。
雖然經濟低迷和房價昂貴等國內問題也在競選中被凸顯出來，但賴清德領導的民進黨所呼籲的自決、社會正義和拒絕中國威脅最終贏得了勝利。這是台灣自1996年開放總統直選以來，首次有同一政黨連續三次贏得總統大選。總統的任期為四年。
台灣曾是日本的殖民地。賴清德與現任總統蔡英文皆拒絕中國對台灣的主權主張。然而，他們已提出願與北京對話，但北京稱他們為分裂分子，一再拒絕舉行會談。
據信北京較支持對中國更友善的國民黨候選人。國民黨總統候選人侯友宜也承諾在加強國防的同時，重啟與中國的談判。他曾誓言，如果當選，他不會採取統一台海兩岸的行動。
侯友宜在其敗選演說中，為國民黨「不夠努力」重返執政而道歉。在1980年代民主改革之前，國民黨在台灣實施了近四十年的戒嚴統治。
第三位候選人是規模較小的台灣民眾黨(TPP)的柯文哲，他特別受到年輕人的支持，他們想要國民黨和民進黨以外的選擇，自1990年代以來，台灣基本上是由這兩個傳統上對立的政黨輪流執政。
柯文哲表示，雙方之間的對話至關重要，但他的底線是台灣需要保持民主與自由。
中國國台辦發言人陳斌華表示，北京不會接受選舉結果代表「島內主流民意」，但並未給出任何證據或理由。
美國受其法律約束，必須向台灣提供自衛所需之武器，並承諾支持台灣，無論選出怎樣的政府。拜登政府計劃選後不久派遣一個由前高級官員組成的非正式代表團前往台灣，進一步強化了美國的承諾。
賴清德贏得了近560萬張選票，得票率略高於40%，侯友宜得票率為33.5%，柯文哲為26.5%。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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