Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday secured a comprehensive victory over her nearest rival, a pro-Beijing mayor Han Kuo-yu, in the island nation’s presidential election that witnessed the country’s voters rejecting Communist Party of China’s (CPC) ‘one nation, two systems’ concept.
With almost 99 per cent of the votes counted, Tsai was leading with 57 per cent of the votes polled in favour of her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Han Kuo-yu, on the other hand, could only manage 38 per cent of the vote, as per figures released by Taiwan’s Election Commission.
Tsai Ing-wen’s victory is being viewed as a big jolt to China’s ambitions in the region, as her rival Han, the mayor of the port city of Kaohsiung, had campaigned on the pitch of a “united Taiwan.” “No matter what, we hope to see a united Taiwan when we wake up tomorrow,” Han, who contested on the Kuomintang (KMT) party ticket told his supporters at a rally in his home city.
In winning the election, President Tsai has scripted a major comeback after she had to step down as the leader of the DPP following a series of losses in local elections in 2018.
Reputed in international circles for being a fierce advocate of Taiwan’s sovereignty in the face of repeated provocations by Beijing, President Tsai said the result reflected the resilience of Taiwan’s 23 million people when their independence was under attack.
"The results are significant because they have shown that when our sovereignty and democracy are threatened, our people will shout our determination even more loudly back," Tsai said during a news conference, as per media reports.
Tsai’s victory could pave the way for a more assertive Taiwan in international relations, as the elections have proved that majority of the country’s population favour an independent path going ahead, rather than toe the line of their economically and militarily powerful western neighbour.
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