LIVE – Presidential election in Taiwan: According to partial results, the candidate criticized by China’s leader Lai Ching-te
Residents of Taiwan voted this Saturday to elect the island’s new president.
The outcome of the vote could be crucial for continuing relations with China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory.
Follow the latest information.
Counting is still going on
Like Taiwan, the counting of votes is underway in Taipei. Earlier in the evening, outgoing Vice President Lai Ching-he of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received 41.6% of the vote, according to official results covering more than 60% of polling stations, while his main opponent Hou Yu-ih, of the Kuomintang (KMT) The candidate, who advocates ties with Beijing, received 33.2% of the vote.
Counting underway in Taiwan, Lai Ching-te leadsSource: TF1 information
Lai Ching-His Portrait
Find a portrait of the candidate who currently tops the tally in the article below.
Candidate Lai Ching-te is in the lead
Counting is still underway in Taiwan but first partial results put Lai Ching-te in the lead with 41.6% of the vote. Taiwan’s vice president, the candidate, is seen by Beijing as a “serious threat” because of his pro-independence stance.
Who are the three candidates?
Three candidates presented themselves for this one-round presidential election. Ballot favorite, Vice President Lai Ching-te, of the Democratic Progressive Party, is seen as a “serious threat” by Beijing. face it, Hou Yu-ih, the candidate of the main opposition party, the Kuomintang, advocates ties with Beijing. The third candidate, Ko Wen-J, the small Taiwan People’s Party, presents itself as anti-establishment. Details can be found in the video below.
Taiwan: Presentation of three candidatesSource: TF1 information
Living with the threat of invasion
“Taiwanese people have been used to 70 years of Chinese demands, 30 years of strong military pressure and 10 years of attack and invasion scenarios. Whether it’s likely or not, that’s not the question, they live with it.” , lecturer at Sciences-Po Lyon, expert on the Chinese world Stéphane Korkoff underlines the LCI. “Whenever there is a missile crisis or a large-scale military exercise, Taiwanese go about their daily lives as if nothing happened. Because they are obliged to do so,” he adds.
“They live with the threat of invasion from China,” researcher Stefan Korkoff says of Taiwan.Source: TF1 information
Results published in real time
Unlike France, the results of the calculations are published in real time. Taipei, the capital of Taiwan where the LCI Special Envoy is based, is DPP candidate William Lai, who is currently leading with 38% of the vote. The final result will be given by the Election Commission a little later in the evening.
In Taiwan, voters had until 4pm to choose their president. At the headquarters of the DPP, the ruling party, activists are confident: here the results are published in real time and for the moment their candidate William Lai is leading with 38% of the vote @TF1Info pic.twitter.com/qzVhfLOnSG — Claire Cambier (@Claire_Cambier) 13 January, 2024
Different opinions
Relations between China and Taiwan feature heavily in these elections, but voters are not all in agreement on how the neighbor should be treated. “For me, it’s a choice between peace and war, you have to choose the side that is against war,” said a Taiwanese as he left the polling station. “I think it’s too extreme to say it’s a choice between peace and war. It’s a political slogan, but not a reality. There are other choices besides extremes,” said another voter.
Taiwan: A Dominating View of the Island’s Relations with ChinaSource: TF1 information
Live from Taipei
According to Claire Cambier, LCI’s special correspondent in Taiwan, participation in Taipei is just over 70%. It is very high, but lower than the last elections. Four years ago, in 2020, participation reached 75%. 17 million people vote in Taiwan.
Taiwan: Just over 70% participation in TaipeiSource: TF1 information
Understand all about the relationship between Taiwan and China
Taiwan’s election was dominated by the island’s relationship with China. Explained in the video below.
Understanding everything about the relationship between Taiwan and ChinaSource: TF1 information
voters from afar
Many voters did not hesitate to travel to vote. According to a press release from Taiwan’s railway company, 746,000 people were expected to take the train today, most of whom will return to their homeland to vote, up from 2020 (about 704,000). Taiwanese also returned home for the event, as overseas voting was not authorized. In all, millions of Taiwanese voted.
In 2020, participation in this region of 23 million inhabitants was close to 75%.
“Land of Freedom and Democracy”
Offices are closed but LCI went to meet voters to know their expectations about these elections. At the fore is Taiwan’s relationship with its neighbor China, which claims the island and vows to “crush” any desire for independence.
“I think the problem in Taiwan is not determined by a party or its beliefs, but by the hostile attitude of an external power,” said one Taiwanese interviewed in the report below. “I hope we remain a country of freedom and democracy,” hoped another.
Taiwan: Counting is underway after presidential and legislative electionsSource: TF1 information
Portrait
Current Vice President Lai Ching-te is among the three candidates running in Taiwan’s presidential election. A representative of the Democratic Progressive Party, the same party as Tsai Ing-wen, who has presided over the island for 8 years, has become Beijing’s bête noir. Find the portrait of the person presented as the ballot favourite.
Polling stations close at 4 pm.
With a 7-hour time difference between Paris and Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, it’s 4pm in the archipelago where major elections are taking place. Polling stations have closed and counting can begin. The results of the presidential and assembly elections, in one round, are expected in the evening.
WEIBO blocks hashtags linked to the presidential election
Social network Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of the X platform, today blocked hashtags linked to the presidential election in Taiwan, one of the most discussed topics online in the early hours of the morning, AFP noted.
“According to applicable laws, regulations and policies, content on this topic cannot be posted,” Weibo laconically displays when searching with the hashtag “Taiwan Election” now.
The topic has been viewed nearly 163.2 million times today since polling began.
Keys to Understanding Elections
Taiwan’s voters go to the polls to elect their new president. A crucial vote for the stability of the region. China, which claims sovereignty over the island, is trying to influence the verdict in the election. Such an attitude hardly sits well with Washington, Taipei’s primary military backer.
good morning
Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the election in Taiwan. Millions of residents are heading to the polls today to elect their next president, despite growing threats from China, which claims the island and vows to “crush” any desire for independence. Find highlights and key images on this topic here.
This Saturday, January 13 is presidential election day in Taiwan. The island, 180 kilometers east of China, is claimed by the communist country as its own territory. Three main candidates could come to power in this one-round election.
The first is Lai Ching-te, the current vice president and supporter of current president Tsai Ing-wen. If the latter supports status quo With China’s neighbor, his party’s candidate, the DPP, claims a more radical position, not hesitating to assert that Taiwan is already an independent state in its own right. Currently he is the main favorite in the election.
Favorite Lai-Ching-His Two Rivals
Another contender for the presidency: KMT party candidate Hou Yu-eh, who is pushing for a compromise with Beijing. However, he does not want “Reunification“With Beijing, as he repeated during the conference on Thursday.”Taiwan is a democratic and independent country“, he said, and”Whatever China thinks, public opinion in Taiwan is to maintain what we want to do status quo”.
Finally, according to the observers, a third man also emerges. This is Ko Wen-jae, from the TPP, a small populist party in Taiwan. Presented as an outsider, the latter promised that “Change this country“, leaving the traditional parties.”Democracy is our most important asset in Taiwan!“, he began during one of his campaign meetings. The former surgeon, former mayor of the capital Taipei, is addressing a particularly young and connected electorate, which has been strongly westernized in the country over the past 20 years.
On Thursday, China told Taiwan’s voters “Good choice“, to condemn”serious threat“Lai Ching-what will he present. The country’s army led by Xi Jinping also assured a few hours later that he will not hesitate”to break“Various attempts at independence on the island. The United States, Taiwan’s main arms supplier, is also carefully scrutinizing the results of this election, which is particularly strategic for its influence in the region.
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