The election victory for William Lai of the DPP has led to a rigmarole of statements from China and the United States (US). (Photo/X/@ChingteLai)
Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected President of Taiwan after an election where his competitors, Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) conceded defeat to the former Vice President. This marks the DPP’s third consecutive tenure in office, with more than 40 per cent of votes going to William Lai. Hsiao Bi-khim will be the Vice President. She was the representative of Taiwan to the United States from 2020 to 2023. William Lai assumes his presidency on May 20. Briefly, let us parse through what makes Taiwan and its political culture unique.
Politics of an island nation
The Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament, elects 113 members, of whom 73 are directly elected, with ballots counted by hand and each vote publicly displayed. Thirty-four seats of the Legislative Yuan are “at large”, allotted proportionately to parties that have secured more than 5 per cent of the votes. The remaining six seats are allotted to indigenous communities, who have been living on the island, much before Ilha Formosa, as it was called by the Portuguese, had their minor coastal holdings facing the South China Sea. The Central Election Commission conducts these polls every four years and is lauded for its efficiency. Taiwan’s elections for a new President demonstrate the country’s varying political expressions that it has witnessed over seven decades — this time, it is democracy with Taiwanese characteristics.
After losing the civil war on the mainland to the communists, the Kuomintang (KMT) led by Chiang Kai-shek “relocated” to Taiwan to establish a nation, where the “market” decides the economy, different from the overwhelming “state control” exemplified by the Communist Party of China (CPC) led by Mao Zedong. The KMT began its rule on the island authoritatively, with settled populations in a few towns and hinterland uncomfortable with “mainlanders” who were “occupiers”. Within a few decades, the economy determined daily life, and Taiwan, then known as the Republic of China (ROC), adapted quickly to the former coloniser Japan’s methodologies in fomenting active participation in building an economic nation. During the Cold War, Taiwan had phases of tension with mainland China, but protective reassurances from the United States kept mainland China troops at a distance.
Know more Who is William Lai, the new president of Taiwan?
Chiang Kai-shek’s totalitarianism gave way to his son Chiang Ching Kuo’s farsighted demeanour as an authoritarian who steered political culture from absolute control to relative authoritarianism while encouraging the establishment of political parties — with the island gradually transforming into a democracy. A one-party democracy was visualised with the KMT at the helm supported by weaker political parties and Lee Teng-hui of the KMT as elected President exemplified this. This gave way to the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), coming to power for the first time in 2000 with Chen Shui-bian, who was at the helm until 2008 when his constitutional limit of two terms for elected President ended. He was replaced by Ma Ying-jeou of the KMT (2008-2016) who gave way to Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP in 2016. With William Lai, the DPP continues to be in power.
There are many important features of Taiwan’s politics. Public enthusiasm for polls is reflected in the media commentary and debates on digital platforms with television documentaries highlighting what contesting candidates must do to assuage people about the economy — and how to convey a politically open Taiwan template to centralised mainland China, just 180 kms across the Taiwan Straits.
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