On Saturday, it was reported that Dr. Lai had received 40.05% of the vote, comfortably ahead of Hou You-xi of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) with 33.49% and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP)’s Ko Wen-ji with 26.46%. Central Election Commission.
The Democratic Party lost its majority in the parliament, securing 51 seats out of 113. The National Party won the most seats with 52 seats, and the TPP won 8 seats. Two seats were won by independent candidates.
Dr. Lai, a former mayor of Tainan, is a prominent supporter of Taiwanese independence. His rivals and critics say his election would endanger Taiwan and threaten peace with China.
In his victory speech, he extended an olive branch to the opposition and China.
“Based on the principles of dignity and equality, we will confidently pursue exchanges and cooperation with China, using exchanges instead of obstructionism and dialogue instead of confrontation,” he said.
“This will promote the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and achieve our objectives of peace and common prosperity.”
Immediately after Lai’s victory, the China-Taiwan Affairs Office stated that Lai’s victory would not change the fundamental situation of cross-strait relations.
In a statement carried by Xinhua News Agency, Chen Bin-hua, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said the results showed that the Democratic Progressive Party could not represent mainstream public opinion in Taiwan.