Taiwan calls on Beijing to “respect the results of the presidential election”

(Taipei) Taiwan on Sunday called on China to “respect the results of the presidential election” won the day before by Lai Ching-te, who affirms that the island is de facto independent and promises to defend it against threats of reunification.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on the Beijing authorities to respect the results of the election, to face reality and to desist from repressing Taiwan,” according to a statement from the Taiwanese ministry.

Claiming to have received congratulations from “more than 50 countries including 12 diplomatic allies”, the ministry denounced the “absurd and erroneous comments” of the Chinese authorities.

Earlier on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on the social network world and that Taiwan is part of China will not change.”

As of Saturday evening, the communist country, which considers Taiwan as one of its provinces to be reunified by force if necessary, had affirmed that this vote “will not hinder[it] not the inevitable trend of reunification with China.

” We […] We will firmly oppose separatist activities aimed at Taiwan’s independence as well as foreign interference,” warned Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Chinese office responsible for relations with Taiwan.

At the end of a campaign marked by strong diplomatic and military pressure from China, outgoing vice-president Lai Ching-te, 64, won the presidential election in one round with 40.1% of the vote.

He will take office on May 20, alongside his vice-president, Hsiao Bi-khim, former representative of Taipei in Washington.

Coming from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) like outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen – who could not run again after two terms – Lai Ching-te promised to “protect Taiwan from China’s continued threats and intimidation”.

Nuanced position

The one who, in the past, had defined himself as “a pragmatic architect of Taiwan’s independence”, has since softened his speech: now, like Tsai Ing-wen, he adopts a more nuanced position, affirming that a process independence is not necessary because the island is de facto independent, with its own government and elections.

But he remains perceived by Beijing as a promoter of “separatist activities linked to independence” and “a serious danger” for relations between China and Taiwan.

China had therefore called on the Taiwanese to make “the right choice”, but they preferred to choose Lai Ching-te rather than his main opponent Hou Yu-ih, of the Kuomintang, who advocated rapprochement with Beijing.

“We tell the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will be on the side of democracy,” said the president-designate to his supporters, promising however to “continue exchanges and cooperation with China” , the island’s first trading partner.

The status of Taiwan is one of the most explosive topics in the rivalry between China and the United States, and Washington plans to send an “informal delegation” to the island after the vote.

The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken congratulated Lai Ching-te as well as the Taiwanese for their “solid democratic system”.

But “we do not support independence,” assured President Joe Biden.

The United States does not recognize Taiwan as a state and considers the People’s Republic of China the sole legitimate government, but nevertheless provides the island with significant military aid.

The European Union “congratulated” “all the voters who participated in this democratic exercise”.

“Raise the pressure”

The territory of 23 million inhabitants located 180 kilometers from the Chinese coast is hailed as a model of democracy in Asia.

“The ruling party’s unprecedented third consecutive presidential victory will disappoint China,” commented Bonnie Glaser, a China specialist at the German Marshall Fund in Washington. “But it is unlikely to lead to a near-term change in Beijing’s reunification strategy.”

The analyst also considers it “unlikely […] that Chinese President Xi Jinping resume official contacts with the Taiwanese government, which were suspended eight years ago,” following the election of Tsai Ing-Wen.

For Alexander Huang, a military expert from Tamkang University in Taipei, a military reaction from China to the vote “will probably not be immediate”.

But “Beijing will increase pressure on Taiwan in other ways: after all, Lai Ching-te is not like Tsai Ing-wen,” he says, estimating that the president-elect is perceived by Beijing as more radical than its predecessor.

In the week before the election, China sent balloons, planes and warships across the strait, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.

A conflict in this strait would be disastrous for the world economy: the island supplies 70% of the planet’s semiconductors and more than 50% of the containers transported in the world pass through it.