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Taiwan just said no to “reunification” or you could argue that Taiwan just said yes to war.
China has been making threats for weeks that this election was a vote between peace and war. Peace on China’s terms meant electing the Beijing-friendly KMT Party so that reunification with the mainland could be negotiated. War, according to China, meant electing the DPP to a third term in a row by voting for William Lai. Officially, Lai has said he is happy with the status quo but China knows he’s the most pro-independence candidate in the race. Today William Lai was elected president of Taiwan.
Taiwanese voters have chosen William Lai as their president in a historic election, cementing a path that is increasingly divergent from China…
By winning an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term for his party, Mr Lai has broken new ground. In his first remarks after his opponents conceded, he signalled that this was an irreversible trajectory.
“The country will continue to walk the right path forward. We will not look backwards,” he told the world’s media in a press conference.
CNN has more on a big moment for democracy in Taiwan:
“This is a night that belongs to Taiwan. We managed to keep Taiwan on the map of the world,” Lai told thousands of jubilant supporters at a rally after his win.
“The election has shown the world the commitment of the Taiwanese people to democracy, which I hope China can understand,” he added.
At a celebration event after the results were announced Lai said, “Between democracy and authoritarianism, we choose to stand on the side of democracy,” And you can bet that didn’t go down well in China.
But as much as China has built this up as a potential last straw toward war, the reality is that nothing much has changed.
