VICE PRESIDENT LAI, WINS PRESIDENTIA ELECTION IN TAIWAN
Walliam Lai Chinge-te has won the presidential election in Taiwan.
Lai, who is the current vice president, faced repeated attacks from China, which called him a dangerous separatist.
According to partial result the vice president took 40.2 percent of votes casted, from the Central Election Commission.
“I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy,” Lai said in a victory speech where he thanked his two opponents for conceding. “We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy.”
He added that hoped for a return to “healthy and orderly” exchanges with China, reiterating his desire for talks based on dignity and parity.
The results were counted from 98 percent of polling stations across the island, according to the commission tally, which also showed that Hou had trailed with 33.4 percent of the vote.
Voters also elected politicians to Taiwan’s 113-seat legislature in elections closely watched by China and the United States.
Taiwan’s elections carry an outsized importance because of the territory’s disputed political status. While self-governing since the 1940s, China still claims the island and its outlying territories and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its ambitions.
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