TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president-elect, has vowed to safeguard the island’s de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies.
Lai, 64, emerged victorious in the election Saturday on the island of 23 million people that China claims as its own. He is currently vice president with the Democratic Progressive Party, which has rejected China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan.
As he faced his supporters Saturday night, Lai vowed Taiwan would “continue to walk side by side with democracies from around the world.”
Lai has vowed to strengthen the island’s defense and economy, which depends heavily on trade with China. He has also made an effort to soften his earlier stance as a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence.”
“We are ready and willing to engage to show more for the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Peace is priceless and war has no winners,” he said earlier in the week.
His chances of success in talking to China, however, are close to null, analysts say.
Instead, Sung added, China will likely resort to a “maximum pressure campaign,” including military and economic coercion.
As vice president, Lai helped promote Taiwan’s interests internationally.
He stopped in New York and San Francisco on his way to Latin America in August in a move that was criticized by Beijing.
That visit was part of a diplomatic mission to Paraguay, one of a dozen countries that still maintains formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Many countries, including the U.S., formally recognize the People’s Republic of China but maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan.
