Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te vowed Saturday to stand “on the side of democracy” and defend the self-ruled island from “intimidation” from China, which has branded him as a threat to peace in the flashpoint region.
Lai delivered an unprecedented third consecutive term for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after a raucous campaign in which he pitched himself as the defender of Taiwan’s democratic way of life.
Communist China claims democratic Taiwan, separated from the mainland by a 180-kilometer (110-mile) strait, as its own and says it will not rule out using force to bring about “unification,” even if conflict does not appear imminent.