When Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party won Taiwan¡¯s presidential election on Jan. 13, ensuring his party¡¯s continued rule for an unprecedented third term, Beijing issued a statement asserting that the DPP ¡°cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island.¡±
Lai won 40% of the vote in a three-way race. This means that a majority, 60%, did not vote for the DPP candidate. Moreover, in parliamentary elections held the same day, the DPP lost its majority.
On Feb. 1, the DPP¡¯s speaker and deputy speaker were replaced by Kuomintang legislators, Han Kuo-yu, who ran for president in 2020, and Johnny Chiang, the former KMT chairman.
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