Beijing’s message to Taiwan’s voters just does not seem to be getting through.
William Lai’s win in Saturday’s first-past-the-post presidential race means an unprecedented third straight term for what the mainland has dubbed the “pro-separatist” Democratic Progressive Party. We’ll hear what the victor - who is also the outgoing vice-president - had to say against the long and steady ratcheting up of tensions in the Taiwan Strait and the carefully-staged response from Washington with the visit of a high-level bipartisan delegation.
How would Taiwan’s election impact US-China relations this year with one side set to hold presidential elections and the other witnessing slowing economic growth?
At the heart of it all is China’s influence in its own backyard: after calling time on Hong Kong’s special status, has it further turned the Taiwanese away or do the opposition’s gains in legislative elections tell a different story?
Produced by Yann Pusztai, Rebecca Gnignati and Imen Mellaz.
