Taiwan’s presidential election result is a slap on the face of China, which had tried hard to influence the result through coercion. The victory of William Lai Ching-te, a pro-democracy and pro-sovereignty leader, marks an open defiance of China, whose aggressive and hegemonic policies are increasingly posing a threat to the tiny island nation. The win gives the ruling Democratic Progressive Party an unprecedented third term in office, much to the chagrin of Beijing. The poll outcome, which represents the mood of the Taiwanese people, sends out a strong message to China to stop meddling in the affairs of others. China should respect the mood and sentiments of the people of the island nation. The Chinese authorities lost no time in asserting that any effort to promote the idea of Taiwan’s independence would be crushed mercilessly. China claims Taiwan, a bustling democracy of 23 million people, as its territory, and has never renounced force to bring it under its control.
A strategically important island separated by a narrow 180-kilometre strait from communist-ruled China, Taiwan is a global leader in the manufacture of vital semiconductors and has been delicately managing frosty ties with an increasingly assertive Beijing. In the last few years, China has maintained a near-daily military presence around Taiwan, sending in warplanes and ships to its surroundings in what western nations see as an outright provocation. The communist nation firmly opposes the US having any form of official interaction with Taiwan and interfering in its affairs. The weeks leading up to the presidential election also saw a flurry of Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait’s sensitive median line, which Taipei authorities have slammed as a form of interference in the crucial poll.