Pro-independence candidate Lai Qingde of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has a preliminary lead in the island’s mayoral election, data showed after 30 minutes of counting, broadcast live by Sanli TV.
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Lai Qingde gains 38.5% and 2.7 million votes, followed by the candidate from the opposition Kuomintang party, who advocates normalization of relations with Beijing, Hou Yi with 32.5% and 2.3 million votes, in third place is the candidate from Taiwan People’s Party, advocating dialogue with Beijing and the United States, Ke Wenzhe with 28.9% and 2.07 million votes.
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The TV channel does not specify what percentage of ballots have already been counted or when the counting will be completed.
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Before the elections, Lai Qingde declared his readiness to pursue a tough policy to achieve Taiwan’s independence from the mainland. He also advocates close cooperation with the West.
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Hou Yuyi is a candidate from the opposition Kuomintang party, an ex-policeman and the ex-mayor of Xinbei. He opposes the independence of the island and for the normalization of relations with Beijing, but does not intend to discuss with the Chinese authorities the possibility of reuniting the island with the mainland.
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Ke Wenzhe is a candidate from the Taiwan People’s Party, which he founded in 2019. The politician positions himself as an alternative to the two largest parties, is ready for dialogue with Beijing and maintaining the status quo, and proposes to maintain peace through containment and communication. He is a renowned surgeon and ex-mayor of Taipei, widely supported by young people.
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If Lai Qingde wins the current election for the Democratic Progressive Party, it will be a historic third victory in a row. The current head of the island’s administration, Tsai Ing-wen, took office in 2016 and was re-elected in 2020.
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As Beijing has pointed out, the current elections in Taiwan are a serious choice between such prospects as war and peace, the path of prosperity and decline, and therefore “Taiwanese compatriots must stand on the right side of history and make a decisive and correct choice in favor of returning relations on both sides Strait on the right path of peaceful development.”
