Taiwan elects ruling party candidate Lai Ching-te as president in high-stakes race

Taiwan presidential candidate and Vice President Lai Ching-te, who goes by William, emerged victorious Saturday in the country’s presidential election, after a high-stakes race forced his opponents to concede.

The result will decide the country’s relations with China for the next four years, with peace and stability in the region threatened as Beijing claims the strip of water between the countries is its own to rule, The Associated Press reported.

The election was focused mainly on domestic issues including a slowed economy and the gap between rich and poor, as well as unemployment and housing costs, per the AP.

While it was perceived to be a close race between Lai, a Harvard alumnus and member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hou Yu-ih of the main opposition Koimintang (KMT) party and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party — who had drawn support from younger voters looking for an alternative to the major parties.

China previously warned that the election was critical, as voters could be choosing between war and peace. The country has openly opposed the DPP, as it claims sovereignty over the island that has governed itself for nearly three-quarters of a century.

Lai has rejected China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid a civil war in 1949. He has offered to speak with China, but Beijing officials have refused to hold talks, calling them “separatists.”

China has sent fighter planes and warships toward the island in part of its warnings, but any conflict would disrupt the global economy and has the potential to involve the United States, according to the AP.

The country told the U.S. that it would not make a concession or compromise on Taiwan, as Chinese and American officials recently held military talks for the first time since 2022.

The talks between officials came just months after President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met and agreed to restore military communications after normalizing a rocky relationship. The officials didn’t resolve any tensions surrounding Taiwan ahead of the election, however.

The U.S. announced Wednesday that it would send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan following the election results. Biden previously sent unofficial delegations in 2021 and 2022.