Magazine Taiwanese voters have made their choice. Now it’s up to President-elect Lai Ching-te – and the reactions from Washington and Beijing – to shape the future. Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, left, celebrates his victory with running mate Bi-khim Hsiao in Taipei, Taiwan, Jan. 13, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Louise … Read more
Current Vice President Lai Ching-te (also know as William Lai) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the Taiwanese presidential election on January 13. Lai won with 5,586,019 votes, while Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) took 4,671,021 votes. Ko Wen-je, the candidate of the relatively new Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), had a strong performance … Read more
On January 13, Taiwan will hold presidential and legislative elections. Taiwan’s voters will cast one vote for president, one vote for a candidate running for the legislature in their home district, and one vote for their preferred party. The candidate with the most votes will win the presidency, even if they have a plurality rather … Read more
In the final days before voting on January 13, Taiwan’s major political parties are holding their last large-scale campaign rallies – and also increasingly leaning into partisan attacks on each other. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate William Lai has come under fire by the pan-Blue camp for what is framed as an illegal structure owned … Read more
The presidential election in Taiwan, set for January 13, is proving to be a tight race between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate, Lai Ching-te, more commonly called William Lai, and the Kuomintang candidate, Hou Yu-ih; the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) candidate, Ko Wen-je’s campaign is increasingly becoming a lost cause. The most recent … Read more
On December 1, in an op-ed for The Diplomat, the director of International Affairs for Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, Vincent Chao, deliberately distorted the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, or KMT) position on compulsory military service. It misleads readers around the world who are eager to understand the issues that will determine the winner of … Read more
The presidential election in Taiwan in January 2024 is seen as an inflection point with broad implications for Taiwan, China, and the United States. However, the election is unlikely to represent a turning point for U.S. policy toward Taiwan and China in 2024. The main reason for continuity in U.S. policy toward Taiwan and China … Read more
In Taiwan, the drama of the opposition’s attempts to coalesce into a unified ticket has finally come to a close. After an Oscar worthy effort, complete with attempts to coax one another into a hotel room, a reading of a private text, and public squabbling by the candidates and their campaign staff, the Kuomintang (KMT) … Read more
The pan-Blue camp’s efforts at establishing an alliance between the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) and Kuomintang (KMT) came crashing down in flames on Thursday with a bizarre televised spat between the three major opposition candidates: Hou Yu-ih of the KMT, Ko Wen-je of the TPP, and Foxconn founder Terry Gou, who is running as an … Read more
Taiwan’s presidential elections took an unexpected turn in the last month, with what was widely viewed as a not very competitive race suddenly looking as though it might become, in fact, a highly competitive one. In particular, William Lai of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has been seen as the most likely victor for months, … Read more