Taiwan elects new president and new parliament

2024-01-12 20:35:24

The people of the East Asian island nation of Taiwan are electing a new president and a new parliament this Saturday. The outcome of the election will also determine how the tense relationship with powerful neighboring country China develops. Although Taiwan has not officially declared independence, it has had an independent, democratically elected government for decades. China sees Taiwan as part of its territory and wants reunification.

The relationship with China was a dominant topic in the election campaign. In 2016, Beijing broke off contact with the current government under President Tsai Ing-wen. The Taiwan issue is also a reason for the tense relationship between Taipei’s ally Washington and Beijing.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which supports independence for Taiwan, is separatist in the eyes of the Chinese leadership, even if it has no intention of officially declaring independence. President Tsai is not allowed to run once more following two terms in office. William Lai is running for the DPP instead. The competitors of the conservative Kuomintang party and the Taiwan People’s Party want more contact with China once more, but on the condition that Taiwan’s democracy is preserved.

The approximately 19.5 million voters at home and abroad will also decide between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (local time) on the composition of the parliament, in which the DPP has previously had an absolute majority. If no party achieves a majority, the work of the incoming government would be made more difficult, as political projects would require the support of other parties. An election result is expected late Saturday evening (local time).

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