Lai Ching-te won the one-round presidential election in Taiwan on Saturday January 13 with 40.1% of the vote. The elected representative of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) promised, in front of his jubilant supporters waving red and green flags, to “protect Taiwan from China’s continued threats and intimidation”.
The candidate hated by Beijing, who will take office on May 20, congratulated the population for having “successfully resisted the efforts of external forces to influence this election”. This campaign was in fact marked by strong diplomatic and military pressure from China.
As soon as the results were announced, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken congratulated Lai Ching-te as well as the Taiwanese for their “solid democratic system”. “The United States congratulates Dr. Lai Ching-te on his victory in Taiwan’s presidential election. We also congratulate the people of Taiwan for once again demonstrating the strength of their robust democratic system and electoral process,” declared the Secretary of State in a press release, while an informal delegation sent by the United States arrived this Sunday on the archipelago, announced the American Institute in Taiwan.
Beijing, which reaffirmed that “reunification” was “inevitable”, “strongly deplored” the United States’ statement on the vote in Taiwan. For the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this American declaration “sends a profoundly erroneous signal to separatist forces in favor of ‘Taiwan independence'”, the Chinese ministry said on Sunday. “We strongly deplore it and we firmly oppose it,” he added. Despite the vote, “Taiwan is part of China,” a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
The call for “respect for the status quo”
France, for its part, welcomed this Sunday the holding of elections in Taiwan and sent its “congratulations” to the voters and candidates “who participated in this democratic exercise”, while calling for “respect for the status quo”. “We extend our congratulations to all the voters and candidates who took part in this democratic exercise, as well as to the elected officials,” underlines the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, without mentioning by name the elected president Lai Ching-te, from of a traditionally pro-independence party.
“We reaffirm the crucial nature of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, call for respect for the status quo by all parties, and hope for a resumption of dialogue between the two sides of the Strait,” we can read in this communicated. “Taiwan is an important partner of Europe and France, particularly in the economic, cultural, scientific and technological fields, and we hope that following these elections, ties with the island will continue to strengthen, in compliance with our one-China policy” (Editor’s note: officially recognizing only mainland China), indicates the Quai d’Orsay.
Germany also insisted on preserving the status quo in Taiwan and urged that any changes only be made in a “peaceful and concerted manner” with Beijing. “We congratulate all the voters and candidates who participated in these elections, as well as those who were elected,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement, without congratulating Lai Ching-Te by name.
“Germany strives to preserve the status quo and build confidence. The status quo can only be changed in a peaceful and concerted manner,” he added. “We hope that both parties will continue their efforts to reopen dialogue,” Berlin said, assuring that it wants to “develop” its relations with Taiwan “within the framework of the ‘One China’ policy.”