DPP’s Lai Ching-te Wins Taiwan Election in Setback for China

The result marks a milestone for the relatively young democracy, as it’s the first time that a political party has won three consecutive presidential elections. Still, Lai won just 40.1% of the vote. Current president Tsai Ing-wen is stepping down due to term limits The ruling DPP also lost its majority in the 113-seat legislature, though the opposition KMT also failed to gain a majority. That gives the TPP eight seats that may be critical to either party pushing through major legislation   Bloomberg Economics’ chief geo-economics analyst Jennifer Welch, who previously worked at the US National Security Council as the director for China and Taiwan, says Lai’s narrow margin of victory and loss of the DPP’s legislative majority could stymie his domestic agenda. Attention shifts to Beijing, which has signaled its approach to Taiwan will be influenced by the election outcome. China’s economic heft and Taiwan’s central role in the global semiconductor supply chain mean heightened tensions between them could have significant implications for the global economy.