Some sentences stick forever with their author. For Lai Ching-te, these are the words he spoke to the Taiwanese Parliament when he was prime minister in 2017: “I am a pragmatic worker for independence. » Nothing of a blunder, they reflect his thoughts, he has always assumed them: “I will never deviate from this position, whatever position I occupy. »
Mr. Lai was elected president of Taiwan on Saturday January 13, with 40.2% of the votes according to still partial results. The two opposition candidates conceded defeat early in the evening. Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang won 33.4% of the vote and Kou Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party 26.4%. For the next four years, Lai Ching-te will lead the island that the Chinese head of state, Xi Jinping, intends to reunify with mainland China, a “historic mission” which must stop being transmitted ” from generation to generation “, by peaceful means if possible, by military means if necessary. On Friday, on the eve of the vote, the People’s Liberation Army warned that it would crush “any form of attempted secession from Taiwan whatsoever”.
“We will seek exchange and cooperation with China, for the benefit of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, Mr Lai said on Saturday after his election. But we are also determined to protect Taiwan from China’s persistent threats and intimidation.”.
At the end of an election among the most sensitive of all those which will mark the year 2024, the arrival to power of this seasoned politician, who during his career has never stopped defending the stronger assertion of a Taiwanese identity, is certain to provoke a strong reaction from Beijing. For Ivy Kwek, researcher in Taiwan for the International Crisis Group, “we must expect some form of Chinese reaction to Lai’s election”.
In an undisguised threat, China in December withdrew preferential tariffs on petrochemical products granted to Taiwan as part of a cross-Strait agreement concluded in 2010. It could hit Taiwanese exports much harder , of which 35% is absorbed by the continent. Incursions by Chinese fighters beyond the median line dividing the strait are already increasing every month.
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For this 64-year-old man, this victory is the culmination of a long political career. During one of his last meetings, in front of the presidential palace, on Thursday, he still had this assertive but very calm tone, this perfectly defined middle parting which leaves his large forehead clear but this time his eyes were reddened from finally finding himself so close of the meeting with the Taiwanese people.
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