Voters in
Taiwan shrugged off warnings from China
and reelected
the ruling party for a third
consecutive presidential term.
It's a vote
that could have major consequences
for U.S. relations with China.
CNN's Will Ripley has more.
History on the streets of the Taiwanese
capital tonight.
Thousands of people are out here
listening to the first words
of their new president elect
lie Chinda
and his vice president
elect shall be Kim.
This is their first press conference
after confirming
that they have accepted
their election win.
The two opposition parties,
the parties that were considered
friendlier to China,
both conceded earlier in the evening
on Saturday.
The election results came through
relatively quickly,
just a few hours
after the polls closed here in Taiwan.
This island democracy has a reputation
for being very efficient
when it comes to tallying
the election results,
partially
because there are
just under 24 million people living here
and nobody can vote and absentee ballots.
So everybody who cast their ballots,
the millions of Taiwanese
who voted actually had to do so in person
in their hometowns.
But a lot of people turned out
there were just under 2000 polling sites
here in Taipei alone.
And there were lines
at a lot of them throughout the day
because of what is at
stake in this election.
China had told the Taiwanese people,
warning them in the run
up to this election
that this was a choice
between peace and war, prosperity
and decline, implying
that the Democratic Progressive Party,
which is openly loathed
by Beijing's communist leaders,
is the wrong choice in China's view,
to lead Taiwan for the next four years.
And they've been making their point
not only with bellicose statements
but also with actions,
including just in recent days
sending spy balloons over
Taiwan, unveiling
imagery of their third
most advanced aircraft carrier,
one of the most advanced
in the world that experts
say once it completes
sea trials, would play a vital role
in any potential invasion of Taiwan,
which China has never ruled out,
as they say
that they will eventually reabsorb
this island
as part of their territory,
even though the communist rulers
in Beijing
have never actually controlled it.
And of course,
there's always the looming threat.
But people here are the supporters
of the Democratic Progressive Party
say that's exactly why
they've decided
to give the DPP four more years in Taiwan
because they believe that the party's
a strategy of a close alignment
with the United States.
Prioritizing
military, diplomatic
and economic ties with the U.S.
Is is the way
to protect Taiwan from a Chinese attack,
as opposed to the opposition's
argument that, in fact,
mending fences
with China,
rebuilding that relationship
and recalibrate the U.S.
relationship would have been the way
to dial down the temperature
and avoided cross-strait conflict.
But Taiwan has made its decision
a third historic consecutive
presidential term
for the ruling party, the DPP.
Will Ripley, thank you so much.
And just a short time ago, China
responded to the election result.
The Foreign Ministry saying
the election does not change their view
that Taiwan is part of China.
Let's get more now
on this historic election.
Bonnie Glaser
is the director
of the Asia program
at the German Marshall Fund.
So great to see you.
So with China's response there,
I mean, are they signposting,
something about what they believe
should be next?
I thought Beijing's response
was relatively moderate.
They reiterated
that unification is inevitable,
but also said that they look forward
to working with some political parties
in Taiwan.
Of course,
that means probably every political party
other than the winning
a Democratic Progressive Party.
But there were really
no new threats in the statement
that was issued by the Taiwan
Affairs Office in Beijing.
It's probably a placeholder.
So we'll have to see what steps
they, Kate,
that they take in the weeks
and months to come.
And the U.S.
secretary of State, Antony Blinken,
says he's looking forward
to working with Dr.
Lee Ching Tae,
you know,
after they won the presidential election.
What does that say or
how is that received if you are China?
I think that China expects
nothing less than that.
The United States
will continue
to strengthen ties with Taiwan.
I would also note
that President Biden
had a statement as well.
And what he said was
a reaffirmation of U.S.
policy that the United States
does not support Taiwan independence.
And that's a message
that China has heard
before, doesn't necessarily
think that it is credible,
but it's important for them to hear.
And I think
that it does to some extent reduce
the possibility
that they will react
very strongly in the near term.
And I think it was intended to reassure.
In what way might it be an obstacle
be between the U.S.
and China as it tries to,
you know, resume operations
and relations?
I think that
Taiwan, of course, has long been a
a issue in the U.S.
China relationship
where we've had very sharp differences.
And the two presidents,
Xi Jinping and President Biden, speak
very directly to each other about Taiwan.
And they met in November
at the Woodside summit.
And my understanding is
that they had a very candid exchange.
But I believe that Xi Jinping wants
to preserve
the fragile stability
that has been achieved
in the US-China relationship.
He is probably focused on the economic
headwinds and corruption in the play.
I just don't think he wants a conflict
with Taiwan at this point,
and he doesn't really want to upset
the improving relationship
with the United States,
even though he probably has
low expectations.
Do you feel like Taiwanese
feel more emboldened now?
We heard our Will Ripley there
saying that, you know, voters
say that
this was a choice of a peace over war.
And now that this is a historic
third consecutive win,
what does that say for Taiwan's posture?
I don't think that the
new president, like Chang
and his vice president elect, of course,
because she's
always been the representative
from Taiwan
in the United States for several years.
I don't think that they are going to be
emboldened to pursue independence.
We have really heard
both of them
reaffirm that they will continue
the policies
of the current President Tsai ing Wen
that is preserving
the cross-strait status quo.
And I think they both realized
that they only won 40% of the vote.
That means that 60% of the people
in Taiwan
voted for one of the other candidates,
the DPP
ruling party
also lost
its majority in the legislature.
And so it will be more difficult
to pass laws going forward as a result.
And so this is going to be,
I think, a challenge for the DPP,
but I think their priority
will be continuing to strengthen ties
with the United States,
with the rest of the world.
And I don't think
they want to rock the boat
in relations with Beijing.
All right,
Bonnie Glaser,
we'll leave it there for now.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.