William Lai, who China sees as 'troublemaker', wins Taiwan election

China's Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has said that Taiwan's election result cannot halt "the unstoppable trend of the eventual reunification of the motherland".

Spokesman Chen Binhua, was quoted in Chinese state media as saying that the 40% mandate received by Lai, and the performance of his Democratic People's party (DPP) in the legislative elections, showed that the DPP "could not represent the mainstream public opinion on the island".

"Our position on resolving the Taiwan issue and achieving national reunification remains consistent and unwavering," he added.

Jane Fung, who is visiting from Hong Kong, tells me she feels happy and relieved with the outcome of today's election. Upon seeing such a close race, Fung said she was scared that the main opposition party KMT would come to power, as this would mean closer ties with China.

"I come from Hong Kong, and we cannot do this here," she said, pointing to the confetti and flags.

She was speaking about democracy.

Fung said her daughter is a journalist but she can't do her job. "Hong Kong is not free. It is even becoming less free. But Taiwan is not that way, Taiwan is the opposite."

She tells me she is in love with the island, its food, and its people, but also with these scenes of democracy.

She was happy to be filmed. "I am too old to be arrested anyway," she says.

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US Democratic Congressman John Garamendi, a senior member of the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee has been giving his reaction to William Lai's win to the BBC's Newshour programme:

"It basically means a continuation of the current policies within Taiwan, and quite probably a continuation of the American policies of supporting Taiwan as it progresses and as it deals with a very very difficult situation with China. Nobody wants to have a war with China and certainly the ambiguity that has existed now for more than 50 years will continue.

"My view of the important point of the election is that the Taiwanese people at this time are not interested in independence and not interested in merging into the Chinese system. They want to remain as they are, an island with their own democracy and looking to their own future without the domination of the PRC," he added.

"So I think what we're headed for in the next four years is more of the same. The tensions will be there, the US will continue to support with economic, commercial as well as military support, arms and training.

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Given William Lai's narrow margin of victory, the DPP will have to listen carefully to the aspirations of young voters, says an analyst.

"Had the white-blue alliance not failed, he would have lost," law professor at National Taiwan University Michelle Kuo told the BBC, alluding to the failed alliance between the KMT and TPP. The two parties' candidates combined have garnered about 60% of the vote so far.

Prof Kuo added that young voters are tired of talk of cross-strait relations. "They want cheaper housing, they want rent protections, they want more wage mobility. And these are real domestic issues."

But Prof Kuo also cautioned that it is nevertheless "impossible" to avoid the China factor, given Beijing's ability to influence Taiwan's economy.

"And in that sense, everybody does have to tread cautiously on China."

Shuyu Lin drove for two-and-a-half hours from Taichung to Taipei to support the DPP. They (Lin's preferred pronoun) were holding an LGBTQ flag with a territory representing Taiwan in the middle in rainbow colours.

Lin said they came very, very early and stayed till the results were announced. I asked why, and they said: "[The DPP] supports our community and I came here to support them."

When I asked what they want from the government, Lin said: "I want them to continue on the right path. I want them to continue doing what they are doing."

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This is the moment William Lai's victory speech ended.

DPP supporters wave flags and cheer wildly as confetti pops into the crowd.

"Let's continue to walk in the path of democracy," president-elect William Lai can be heard shouting in the background.

Taiwanese local media says that no party has won the 57 seats needed to command a majority in the 113-seat legislative Yuan.

The main opposition KMT, whose candidate Hou Yu-ih conceded defeat to the DPP's William Lai in the preseidential race, has won 52 seats.

But in this race, the DPP which has held a majority in the legislature since 2016, trails behind by one seat, while the TPP won 8. The other two seats were claimed by independent candidates.

William Lai's win, with a little over 40% of the votes, makes him a president who cannot "claim a mandate or majority", according to Shelley Rigger, Professor of East Asian Politics at Davidson College.

“It’s not a great start honestly to Lai’s presidency," she told the BBC's Steve Lai in Taipei.

Commenting on Taiwan's cross-strait policy, Rigger said Lai's goal would be to "continue the successful policy that Tsai has pursued in keeping Taiwan separate from mainland China”.

She adds that what Lai will have to work on are issues that young voters care about.

“Where I think there is a lot more room for improvement for the DPP is on domestic issues, things like housing and wages, especially for young workers. Those issues seem to have pushed a lot of young voters to the third party.

“Lai will need to work on those issues if he wants another term”

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William Lai has just finished his victory speech. There was a burst of confetti amid people’s deafening cheers.

”Taiwan, keep going," he said.

As the DPP rally came to a close, the presenter said: “Thank you the people of Taiwan. We have made history. The world will keep watching."

The opposition KMT will claim that the third party, Taiwan People's Party, and its candidate Ko Wen-je lost them the election.

But again they have failed to present a candidate or campaign that is attractive outside their core constituency - older supporters who have family and business ties to the mainland.

And they have especially failed to attract young voters, who increasingly see themselves as Taiwanese rather than Chinese and are more concerned about the economy than unification. They appear to have voted for Ko in larger numbers.

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Taiwan has shown the world that its determination to maintain democracy remains unchallenged, outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen said at the DPP's rally.

"We have shown the world that any number of challenges and pressures will not crush our determination to maintain democracy, and our love for Taiwan and for freedom," Tsai said on Saturday, after congratulating her vice president William Lai and his running mate Hsiao Bi-kim on winning the presidential election.

"The world is watching Taiwan's election and it is seeing the value of our democracy," she added.

The crowd erupted in cheers as Tsai wrapped up her speech and took a bow.

She will officially hand over the presidency to Lai when her term concludes in May.

Social media users in China have got the news: William Lai, their least favourite candidate, has won.

Although the hashtag "Taiwan election" was censored, hashtags such as "Taiwan" and "Taiwan region" are still active. The popularity of the "Taiwan" hastag has seen a big jump, with more than 19 million views so far today.

"I'm not surprised. It's like this every four years - it's very clear what Taiwan people think," a comment under a news post about the result reads.

"Taiwan is unsaveable," another popular comment reads.

Some are questioning whether what they were told about Taiwan politics was true.

"Our media are always saying the opposite. The people they say Taiwanese people hate always win! Turns out our media just like lying to us," a comment liked more than 80 times reads.

William Lai has been speaking to journalists and answering their questions.

It's clear that he is being extremely cautious on the whole issue of cross-strait relations with China.

He is choosing his words very carefully and offering dialogue and cooperation based on mutual respect.

Beijing has always accused him of being pro-Taiwan independence because of his radical, younger days when he did advocate for it.

But he has tried to reassure Taiwan and its allies like the US that he will follow his predecessor President Tsai Ing-wen's cautious balancing act.

The cheers at the DPP rally are defeaning.

Supporters shouted as William Lai and the vice president-elect made their way to the podium.

Lai thanked the people for writing a new chapter on Taiwanese democracy.

But this was not a landslide - the numbers were very close for hours, keeping voters here on edge and very nervous. Now one of them told me they can finally sleep well tonight.

But this jubilation is happening against a very tense geopolitical backdrop. At the heart of this election is the US and China’s battle for regional influence in the Indo-Pacific.

For the past eight years, the DPP’s now outgoing president Tsai Ing Wen had moved Taiwan away from Beijing’s orbit closer to the United States - increasingly angering Beijing.

William Lai is likely to continue with the Party’s strong self governing stance - and China has already issued staunch warnings against any moves for independence.

This is the moment.

Supporters burst into cheers as they receive the news that the opposition has conceded.

The BBC's Shaimaa Khalil was at the scene.

Lai said he is "determined to safeguard Taiwan from continuing threat and intimidation from China" and will maintain the cross-strait status quo.

Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is an important responsibility, he said, adding that his government will "use dialogue to replace confrontation" in its exchanges with China.

China had warned voters against voting for Lai.

William Lai says the DPP did not hold on to a majority in the Legislative Yuan, which means the party's efforts were not enough.

"The elections have told us that the people expect an effective government as well as strong checks and balances. We fully understand and respect these opinions from the public," he says.

The new structure of the legislature means Taiwan must build a political environment of communication and cooperation, Lai says, adding that he would carefully study the policies of his electoral opponents.

Lai pledges to bring in talents from different political backgrounds into his government.

More lines coming through from Lai now in his victory speech:

"Through our actions, the Taiwanese people have successfully resisted efforts from external forces to influence our elections. We trust that only the people of Taiwan have the right to choose their own president," Lai said.

The fact that the DPP received the largest vote share shows that Taiwan will continue to "walk on the right path forward", he said.

William Lai is speaking now.

"I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy. We have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy. This is our unwavering commitment," he says.

"Taiwan has achieved a victory for the community of democracies," he adds.