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(Ananta Aspen Centre) Beyond the China Narrative: Exploring Domestic Issues in the 2024 Taiwan Elections

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The popular media narrative, especially after the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DDP) win over the Taiwan Presidency, is that the 2024 elections revolved around being “pro” or “anti” China. However, Taiwan’s foreign, security and economic policy approaches towards the People’s Republic of China (PRC) were just one of the many important issues deliberated during the national elections. The 2024 Taiwan election was fought on domestic issues and governance challenges. A survey in the Common Wealth Magazine, a Taiwanese business magazine, highlights economic development as the most important election issue for the island country. This was further affirmed by the election results, which hide more than it reveal. While it looks like the DPP’s incoming President, Lai Ching-te, won handsomely by securing 40.1% of the popular votes, results would have been different if Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had not had a dramatic alliance collapse in November 2023. KMT’s Hou Yu-ih secured 33.5% of the votes, and TPP’s Ko Wen-je won 26.5% of the votes, thus allowing the DPP a historic third-term continuation of the presidency. Similarly, the three-way contest resulted in a split verdict in the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan, with KMT, DPP and TPP securing 52, 51 and 8 seats, respectively, in the unicameral legislature of 113 members. The DPP is known for its Beijing scepticism, and the split verdict, with KMT as the single largest party in the Legislative Yuan, is indicative that the elections were much more than Taiwan’s approach to dealing with the People’s Republic of China (PRC). 


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