Tsai Ing-wen wins second Taiwan presidential term in record vote

This appeared in The Millennial Source

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen has won her second presidential term in a sweeping victory against her rival Han Kuo-yu on Saturday, January 11.

Tsai soundly defeated her opponents with over 57% of the ballot and a record 8.2 million votes — more than any Taiwan president since the island held its first direct presidential election in 1996 and well ahead of Han who received 38.6%.

The results are dominated by the island’s relationship with China.

Opposing visions

Tsai, together with her party the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has focused on safeguarding Taiwan’s sovereignty and its democratic way of life.

Han, on the other hand, is the populist mayor of Taiwan’s port city of Kaohsiung, representing the Kuomintang of China (KMT) party. Han aims to build a better relationship with China in an effort to strengthen Taiwan’s security and improve its economy.

Tsai opposes closer ties with China, with Han in support of closer China-Taiwan ties as they would bring economic benefits. Tsai has urged China to abandon its threat to take back the island by force. “Peace means that China must abandon threats of force…