The election in Taiwan: What you should know and how it affects relations between the US and China

In an election that Beijing has characterized as “a choice between war and peace,” voters in the island democracy are picking a new president.

Taiwan, Taipei — Important elections are scheduled for 2024—not just in the US.

Taiwan, one of the most powerful democracies in Asia and an island claimed by Beijing, is among the first. Voters in this area will choose a new president on Saturday to succeed Tsai Ing-wen, who is only eligible for two terms in office.

How the three men running to replace her would handle relations with an increasingly assertive China—which has not ruled out using force against Taiwan and has framed the election as “a choice between war and peace”—is a major concern. All three men had an interview with NBC News.

Taiwan has a chance to strike a balance in this election between China, its biggest commercial partner, and the United States, its most significant international ally, according to Wen-Ti Sung, a Taipei-based nonresident associate at the Atlantic Council.

Strong relationships and intimate ties with both sides make it seem like it’s stuck in the middle, he added.

What is in jeopardy?

Following a civil war, the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949, and since then, its ruling Communist Party has asserted sovereignty over Taiwan, the territory where the vanquished Nationalist forces established a competing administration. As part of its long-standing “One China” policy, the United States maintains unofficial ties with Taipei and provides it with defensive weapons while acknowledging Beijing as the only legal government of China.

The majority of Taiwan’s 24 million citizens support preserving the current situation rather than openly announcing their independence or joining China.

One of the main issues of contention in the relationship between the two greatest economies in the world, China and the United States, is Taiwan’s position. China has cautioned the U.S. from becoming involved in what it refers to as a “internal affair,” despite the U.S. claiming to have no preferred candidate in the Taiwanese election.

Taiwan’s defense ministry announced an air raid alarm on Tuesday, claiming that China had launched a satellite, indicating the island nation’s increased caution ahead of the election.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said earlier on Tuesday that it had seen 10 Chinese military planes and four Chinese military ships in the area of the island over the course of the previous day. Beijing has continued to apply almost daily military pressure on Taiwan. In addition, four Chinese balloons were found by the ministry; these are the most recent in a string of balloon sightings over the Taiwan Strait since last month.

The balloons are a threat to international aviation safety and an attempt to frighten the Taiwanese population, according to a statement released by Taiwan’s defense ministry on Saturday. When asked on Monday about the possible risk to flight safety, Mao Ning, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, claimed she was “not aware” of the circumstances.A request for comment was not answered by the Chinese Defense Ministry.

Taiwan claims that China is attempting to sway the election through disinformation efforts and economic pressure. China, on the other hand, has said that in order to win support from voters, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is regarded as the least favorable to Beijing, is “hyping up the threat from the mainland” prior to the election.

Taiwan’s security situation is “urgent but not immediate,” according to Sung.

He declared, “China has geopolitical ambitions towards Taiwan.” What is yet unknown, though, is the precise moment Beijing will turn its threat into a real military assault.

Voters in Taiwan are significantly more focused on internal issues than international ones, with many expressing concerns about rising economic inequality, jobs, housing costs, and education.

“They still feel that the benefits of economic growth haven’t quite trickled down enough yet for the younger voters, those who are fresh out of university trying to find their first job or trying to buy their first house or first apartment,” Sung said.

Who are the contenders?

Tsai’s vice president and former doctor Lai Ching-te of the DPP is the front-runner among the three major contenders. Following Tsai’s election in 2016, which China saw as a pro-independence figure, high-level negotiations with Taiwan were terminated.

As the candidate most likely to maintain Taiwan’s current strategy toward China, including strong ties with the United States and other democracies, is Lai, 64. Beijing despises him the most among the contenders, branding him a “troublemaker” and a separatist.

“We think that in order to work with the international community, we must go out into the world and have faith in Taiwan. In a December interview, Lai stated, “We cannot return to China.

Hou Yu-ih, a member of the Kuomintang (KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, is on the other extreme of the political spectrum. The KMT supports deeper ties with China and contends that the DPP is courting conflict with its policies.

Hou Yu-ih, of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), is on the other end of the political spectrum. The KMT advocates closer ties with China and contends that the DPP is courting conflict through its policies.

“I have consistently argued that Taiwan needs to establish harmonious ties with mainland China,” stated Hou, the mayor of New Taipei City, which encircles the capital, in a translated interview. Hou was previously the head of the police.

Hou, a former police commander and the mayor of New Taipei City, which is located outside of the capital, stated in an interview conducted through a translator, “I have always maintained that Taiwan must create peaceful relations with mainland China.”

In an interview, Ko stated, “It’s about finding a balance between the two, and it’s very challenging.” “The most difficult task facing the president of Taiwan is striking a balance between the United States and China.”

“It’s really difficult to find a balance between the two,” Ko stated in an interview. Finding a balance between the United States and China is the most difficult task facing the president of Taiwan.

Since Ko established the TPP four years ago, many who are unsatisfied with the two options often offered have begun to support the new populist party.

Reports were provided by Janis Mackey Frayer from Taipei, Taiwan, and Jay Ganglani and Alice Kong from Hong Kong.