Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s president-elect, has steered the island toward democracy and away from China

By SIMINA MISTREANU and ADAM SCHRECK
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Lai Ching-te is Taiwan’s president-elect who has vowed to safeguard the Asian island’s de-facto independence from China and further align it with other democracies. Lai, 64, emerged victorious in elections Saturday on the island of 23 million people that China claims as its own. He is currently vice president with the Democratic Progressive Party, which has rejected China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan. As he faced his supporters Saturday night, Lai vowed Taiwan would “continue to walk side by side with democracies from around the world.” The new president has expressed desire to restart dialogue with China, which has refused to communicate with the island’s leaders in recent years. Analysts say there’s little chance of that because Beijing has criticized Lai by name.