Taiwan’s voters have chosen pro-sovereignty candidate William Lai as their next president, a result which has angered China. It means Mr Lai’s party has secured an unprecedented third consecutive presidential term at a time when the Taiwanese people are debating how best to deal with Beijing. China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since the end of the civil war in 1949, when the defeated Nationalist government fled to the island as the Communists under Mao Zedong swept to power. So, what do the election results reveal about how the Taiwanese people view themselves in relation to their much larger neighbour? And do they make a conflict between China, Taiwan and its allies more or less likely? Shaun Ley is joined by a panel of expert guests: Amanda Hsiao - Senior Analyst with the International Crisis Group, based in Taiwan Hsin-I Sydney Yueh - Associate Teaching Professor, Director of Online Education and Internships at the University of Missouri Vickie Wang - Taiwanese writer, interpreter and stand-up comedian Also in the programme: Sean C.S. Hu - Owner of Taipei’s Double Square Art Gallery Produced by Paul Schuster and Zak Brophy Image: Honor guards lower down the flag of Taiwan in Liberty Square in Taipei, Taiwan, 16 January 2024. Credit: Ritchie B Tongo/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
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And this week, Taiwan has elected its next president.
And China is not happy with the result.
William Lai campaigned to keep Beijing at arm's length in an election which in part was about who the Island's people are.
75 years after Chinese nationalists lost their civil war with the communists and fled to Taiwan, the debate continues there.
Are they Taiwanese or still Chinese?
Taiwan is a province.
It is still a part of China.
Slowly the differences between us will narrow until we are the same.
Then we can achieve unification.
I don't consider myself Chinese.
The current mainland and Taiwan are of course very different.
My feeling is that we share the same ethnicity, but in terms of culture and habits, it's still quite different.
And the longer time goes on, those cultures and habits continue to evolve.
One difference is already established.
Taiwan has competitive elections between more than one party.