Ballot papers in pink and yellow are checked, displayed and names called out. Then a candidate and a party get a cross on lists on the wall. In one of the world’s most high-tech societies, votes during elections are still counted manually. The voting rules are strict. The voting age is 20, and it is not possible to vote in advance or vote from abroad. Siblings Eileen Hsieh (20) and Ryan Hsieh (21) have traveled home from Sydney, where they are studying, to vote. Proud of democracy The latter is the reason why siblings Eileen Hsieh (20) and Ryan Hsieh (21) have returned home from Sydney in Australia, where they are studying. – We are very excited and excited. It’s not so much about who we voted for, but getting to vote in an election for the first time. To participate in a democracy, the siblings say to news. In the queue for the polling station in the capital Taipei is also 21-year-old Hui-Ying Shih. – I’m excited. For me this is a big day. It’s my first time voting. It is about democracy. That it can be passed on to our children, and the children who come after them again, says Hui-Ying Shih. Hui-Ying Shih was to cast her very first vote at a school in the capital, Taipei. Young people can decide There is some uncertainty about how the election may end. Journalists are not allowed to ask people at the polling stations what they have voted for. There are no election day polls. And no opinion polls in the last 10 days before the election. Election experts believe the young people can decide which direction Taiwan goes in the next few years. – For Taiwan, my wish is that we can become stronger. Not only financially, but in several areas within knowledge and technology. – So not everything is about the relationship between Taiwan and China, says the first-time voter, says Hui-Ying Shih, who studies mathematics and quantitative finance. These are fighting for power The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), also called the Independence Party, has ruled Taiwan for the past eight years. The DPP has been in power both in the National Assembly and the government and in the presidential office. President Tsai Ing-wen has served her two allowed terms, and three men are competing to succeed her: William Lai (Lai Ching-te) of the President’s Party (DPP). Since the last election in 2020, Lai has been vice-president, before that he was prime minister. Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) or Chinese Nationalist Party. Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party, TTP. The major dividing line between the candidates is the relationship with China. Vice President William Lai is a supporter of formal independence for Taiwan. He narrowly led in the last opinion poll together with the ruling party DPP. In the first results that have been published after the polling stations closed, he has 41.6 percent of the vote. Vice President William Lai (Lai Ching-te) will vote in a polling station in Tainan. China’s Taiwan office has called Lai a “recalcitrant” man working for independence. Lai asked China to stop interfering in the election. Photo: AP Main contender Hou Yu-ih wants a closer relationship with mainland China. He gets more than 33 percent after the first votes have been counted. Nevertheless, both Lai and Hou promise to restore the “status quo”. That is to say, Taiwan has a defined self-government, but does not declare itself an independent nation. Third candidate Ko believes the other two parties, the DPP and the KMT, are stuck in old ideological patterns, and believes it is more important to focus on domestic affairs than the relationship with China. Ko has become particularly popular among the young voters. Voters were led in to vote at a school in Taipei. One of the questions is whether turnout will be higher than in 2020, when it was just over 74 percent. Among young people, it is 70 per cent. Photo: Philip Lote / news An eye that can threaten world peace Taiwan was the part of China that the communists did not gain control of when they won the civil war in 1949. The leaders of the Chinese Nationalist Party, the Kuomintang, fled to the island, which had previously been under the Netherlands, Portugal , Japan and China. The Republic of China continued to be ruled there. Mainland China became the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan has its own flag, its own national assembly, its own president and its own defense. But by much of the world it is not formally recognized as a nation. Right up until 1987, there was a state of military emergency in the country. Only the Kuomintang Nationalist Party was legal. But after the state of emergency was lifted, the authoritarian form of government was also abandoned. In 1996, the first free presidential election was held and since 2000, the two major parties DPP and KMT have taken turns holding the president and government power. Facts about Taiwan The Republic of China, better known as Taiwan, has been self-governing since China’s Communists won the civil war in 1949. The losing party, the Nationalists, fled to the island and established their own government there. China considers the island part of its territory. The vast majority of countries in the world, including Norway, relate to the “one China principle” and thus do not regard Taiwan as a separate country. Only 13 countries now have official diplomatic relations with Taiwan. They are Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and Vatican City. However, many countries have unofficial ties to Taiwan. The island has trading and representative offices in around 60 countries. Several countries also have unofficial offices on the island. Until 1979, the United States had diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Then Washington chose to cut relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing. But the United States, according to its own legislation, is obliged to help Taiwan defend itself. China has previously threatened to intervene against Taiwan if the island’s authorities declare formal independence. China boycotts countries that establish diplomatic ties with the island. China regards Taiwan as the most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. Taiwan has a population of around 23.5 million, while China has around 1.4 billion inhabitants. Taiwan controls 90 percent of the world’s market for advanced computer chips and 65 percent of the market for semiconductors. The island is therefore of great strategic importance for the world’s production of high technology. Source: NTB The DPP was formed from the movement that fought for democracy in Taiwan, and outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen in particular has been at the forefront of building a separate national identity and strengthening the country militarily. The KMT, which ruled the island for over 50 years, wants closer ties to China. But neither party leader and presidential candidate Hou wants a full reunification as long as the Communist Party is the only legal party on the mainland. The KMT and the Chinese Communist Party informally agree to disagree on who represents “the real China”. Tsai Ing-wen has held the presidency for the past eight years. When she was elected in 2016, she became Taiwan’s first female president. Four years later, in 2020, she was re-elected with a large majority. Now she gives thanks. Photo: Ann Wang / Reuters Promises of reunification The Chinese Communist Party considers Taiwan part of China, although it has never had power or control over it. And those in power in Beijing regularly promise that Taiwan will become part of the “motherland”. It has particularly intensified under current President Xi Jinping, who claims a reunification is inevitable. Xi has threatened to use military force to bring about a reunification. Especially if those who rule Taiwan were to declare formal independence from China. China calls it “its red line”. US President Joe Biden has promised to defend Taiwan if China attacks. China believes the US is interfering in “internal affairs”. So who emerges victorious today affects not only Taiwan, but also China and Taiwan, China and the United States, and world peace in general. China has recently warned that the Taiwan election is about war or peace. They have also sent a number of military ships and fighter jets over the island. One of the questions is whether turnout will be higher than in 2020, when it was just over 74 percent. Among young people, turnout is somewhat lower, around 70 per cent. Not least the popularity of the country’s third, largest party, the Taiwan People’s Party and their presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, can boost participation. This DPP supporter pictured at an election rally on January 11 leaves no doubt about where he stands on the China issue. Photo: AFP
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The presidential election in Taiwan that could increase tension with China – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
