Taiwan’s vice president: Why should Taiwanese voters vote so hard? — State-of-the-art analysis of the 2016 Chinese presidential election

Besides the China tensions, domestic issues dominated the campaign, particularly an economy that was estimated to have grown just 1.4% last year. That partly reflects inevitable cycles in demand for computer chips and other exports from the high-tech, heavily trade-dependent manufacturing base, and a slowing of the Chinese economy. Voters were worried about unaffordable housing and wage stagnation, not the other way around. The candidate who gets the most votes is the winner. There are districts and at-large seats in the legislature.

The vice president wants to lead the governing Democratic Progressives Party and give the party an unprecedented third term. He cast his vote in Tainan. He made a suggestion that it’s a good time to vote for Taiwanese people. He encouraged people to vote with enthusiasm and show their support for Taiwan’s democracy.

Taiwan’s Future in the Changing Light: Lai Ching-te, the New President-Elect, and the Status of the Island

Candidates finished their campaigns Friday night with stirring speeches, but younger voters were mostly focused on their economic futures in a challenging environment

Alternative candidate Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party, who has shown popularity among young voters seeking an alternative to the two major parties, voted in Taipei. Asked by journalists how he felt, Ko, in his well-known dry manner, said he aimed to try his best every day “and plan for the next stage when we get there. The voting began at 8 a.m. and ended eight hours later.

At stake is the peace and stability of the island 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the coast of China that Beijing claims as its own, to be retaken by force if necessary. The sluggish economy and expensive housing were some of the domestic issues that were highlighted in the campaign.

Saturday’s election for a new president and legislature could have a major effect on Taiwan’s relations with China over the next four years.

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Lai Ching-te of Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is Taiwan’s new president-elect, after a three-way election that will determine the self-ruled island’s future stance towards China.

Taiwan’s short democratic history has been altered by the fact that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has achieved a third term in the presidential office.

This year’s election came after more than a month of intense campaigning from all three parties, each making the case that they would improve the island’s economy while best protecting Taiwan from China, which hopes to one day control the island.

“[Beijing] will use more economic coercion, diplomatic coercion, more informational warfare, and maybe more on the trade instead of using the military approach,” said Fang-yu Chen, a political science at Soochow University in Taipei. We still have to be ready.

He said that the Taiwan issue is important in terms of China’s politics and that Beijing should do nothing about it. And Chinese people, they would expect the government to do something to show that we are firm, very confident in managing the situation.”

Taiwan’s Democratic Party’s Electoral “President’s Race“: Voting Fate in a Two-Party System

Saturday’s voting closed at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with the Kuomintang (KMT) party conceding the presidential race before 8 p.m. About 75 percent of the island’s eligible voters cast ballots.

“I’m sorry I disappointed my supporters, and I would like to apologize,” KMT’s Hou told the media. Ko acknowledged defeat of the Taiwan People’s Party.

The Democrats got 40% of the vote and lost control of parliament as others took significant percentages.

Taiwan’s new president, who is set to take office in May, faces a divided electorate and political opponents who are at odds over issues of identity and relations with China.

The rise of the TPP in Taiwan’s traditionally two-party political system has reflected voter fatigue with the perceived corruption and ideological rigidity of both the DPP and the KMT, the island’s more established parties, analysts say.

Younger voters especially have flocked to the TPP, which has promised to address rising home prices and pledged greater spending on healthcare and rent subsidies.

Kevin Ko, a project manager at a technology company in Taiwan, stated that the economy is going down and the price for housing is crazy. “Our generation of 25-30 year old, the younger generation, we have been [voting] in elections a lot, but is Taiwan really getting better?”

In his victory speech, he acknowledged that his party didn’t have a majority. “The elections have told us that people expect an effective government as well as strong checks and balances,” Lai said, adding that he will cooperate with opposition parties to resolve the problems Taiwan faces.

But where U.S. policy on Taiwan heads after the U.S. presidential election in November remains a question mark. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was one of the members of the former president’s administration who supported non-traditional positions like offering Taiwan formal diplomatic recognition, which could cause a crisis.

Beijing had wanted to prevent a victory for the man they labeled as a dangerous advocate of Taiwan independence. It called the election a choice between war and peace.

Lewis noted that on China policy there was a limited amount of daylight between the two main candidates for Taiwan’s presidency.

“It’s not like this was a stark black or white choice between two sharply divergent views of how to handle cross-strait affairs,” she said, referring to the Taiwan Strait that geographically separates the island from mainland China. Both Hou and the KMF want more engagement and are both in favor of less reliance on China.

The Taiwan affairs office said that the results show the Democratic Progressive Party can’t represent public opinion on the island.

The Chinese Communist party severed formal dialogue after the election of the DemocraticProgressive Party’s (DPP’s) Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 and have since intensified their military posturing around the island.

At a time where it might not be in the interest of the mainland to have an armed conflict, it needs to deal with the outcome.

At the same time, Zhao said, many in China worry that U.S. policy toward Taiwan is shifting, and the chances of “reunification” by peaceful means are further waning as a result.

Beijing seems likely to continue to shun exchanges with the DPP-led government of Taiwan, according to Gabriel Wildau, an analyst at the consultancy Teneo.

“Still, by signaling the durability of the DPP’s hold on the electorate, the election outcome may force mainland leaders to reconsider their policy of complete freezeout,” Wildau wrote in a note. He said that may lead to “lower-profile exchanges” between the two sides.

The Biden administration is sending a delegation of former officials to Taiwan following the election, in a move that a senior administration official earlier this past week said was standard. At the same time, the administration also pledged to maintain dialogue with Beijing.