On January 13, Taiwan’s citizens will go to the polls to elect their next president and members of the parliament. The presidential election is a contest of two visions toward China: the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DDP) pro-independence position against an engagement approach advocated by the opposition Nationalist Party. Although Beijing’s communist government has never ruled Taiwan, it claimed the democratic island country as its own. Chinese leaders thus denounced the DPP’s candidate as a separatist and characterized the election as a choice between war and peace. Beijing has ramped up its military and economic pressure on Taiwan recently and has also launched a concerted effort of spreading disinformation attempting to discredit DPP candidates. As the outcome could have significant implications to regional peace and stability and the U.S.-China relationship, Taiwan’s 2024 elections have attracted substantial international attention.
University Professor and Chair of Politics and Government Dr. T.Y. Wang was quoted by the French Canadian daily newspaper Le Devoir, in Montreal, Canada, in a report titled “L’avenir de Taïwan placé dans l’incertitude d’un scrutin crucial.” He was also quoted by Weekendavisen (in Danish)—Europe’s oldest newspaper still in print—in a report titled “The election that China hates.”
