Taiwan election: Beijing restrained in response to William Lai’s win
- Allegations of military intimidation and interference by Beijing have been a feature of the ruling party’s campaign narrative
- A South China Morning Post tally shows no increase in aircraft sorties near the island in the three months ahead of Saturday’s voting
Lai, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, secured an unprecedented third term for the ruling DPP, defeating Hou Yu-ih from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang and Ko Wen-je, of the Taiwan People’s Party.
The DPP meanwhile lost its dominance of the legislature, winning 51 seats in that poll. The KMT took 52 seats, while the smaller TPP won eight, a result likely to be welcomed by Beijing.
In a brief statement, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office said the results of the presidential and legislative elections showed that the DPP “does not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island”.
“The elections cannot change the basic pattern and development direction of cross-strait relations … nor can it stop the general trend that the motherland will eventually, and will inevitably, be reunified,” spokesman Chen Binhua said.
He said Beijing “resolutely opposes ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and interference from external forces”.
Zhu Songling, a Taiwan affairs specialist at Beijing Union University, said with Lai as president, “tensions and confrontations” were likely to continue between Beijing and Taipei.
Beijing has labelled Lai as a troublemaker and “separatist”.