If the world learned anything about Taiwan from Saturday’s elections, it was that the people of Taiwan do not take their democracy for granted.
After passionate campaigns by incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and challenger Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) that polarized supporters of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Han’s Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Saturday’s warm, sunny election day, in which Tsai convincingly won reelection and the DPP maintained its legislative majority, was calm and, for many voters, cathartic.
Taiwanese came out in droves to vote, with many having made long journeys from overseas or across the country to do so. Despite the high turnout, which saw 74.9% of the 19.3 million-strong electorate casting presidential ballots, queues at polling stations were reportedly manageable and under 50 incidents or irregularities were reported over the course of the day.
Taiwan’s deep-rooted respect for the democratic process and strict adherence to election law was reflected in two stories that emerged on Sunday. At a polling station in Kaohsiung, an on-duty police officer spotted a fugitive wanted for a theft case, but waited until the man had cast his vote to apprehend him. In Changhua, a man who complained that an overly-wet ink pad had led to his presidential ballot being spoiled was granted a new slip only after election officials came to the site to judge the case, making history as the first such case to be approved.
Taiwan’s public vote counting system, which sees each ballot held up for inspection by observers and called out before being tallied, was praised by Stanford research scholar Kharis Templeman, who is also the program manager of the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project, in an interview with state-run Central News Agency.
“It’s completely transparent, low tech, open and inspires confidence,” Templeman said, adding that the whole world could learn something from Taiwan’s elections.
Voters anxiously await the election results at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Just 20 minutes after the polls closed the area outside DPP headquarters was filled with Tsai supporters of all ages anxiously awaiting the first tallies at the specially set up area.
Chloe, 28, speaking after the results came in, said her family had been nervous about the possible outcome. Other attendees echoed her sentiment, saying that some media reports had predicted that Tsai, the incumbent, may lose.
Tsai supporters were nervous in the moments before the results started coming in.
By 5 p.m. cheers rang out as Tsai passed 2.02 million votes and the crowd settled in with local station Sanlih Television’s coverage being streamed on two large screens. Every so often, a cheer for Hong Kong would emerge as visiting Hong Kongers waved the “Liberation of Our Times” flag.
Ray and Yet, both 19-year-olds from Hong Kong, had traveled to Taiwan to observe its elections. They spoke of the warmth and support that they felt from the Taiwanese people and the excitement at witnessing Taiwan’s presidential elections first-hand.
Michelle, 30, also visiting from Hong Kong for the election, spoke knowledgeably about the various political parties in Taiwan and their prospects. She noted the DPP would have to work hard over the next four years to keep voters from turning to the KMT or the newly created Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which had an impressive performance on Saturday.
Her compatriot John, 37, opined that in this election, Taiwan “made the right choice between dignity and money”—referring to Han’s promises to make Taiwan rich through unbridled cross-strait trade.
The excitement built as Tsai took a firm lead in the polls and the entertainment on stage turned to DPP staff and representatives leading the action with regular updates on the vote tally. By 8 p.m. victory in the presidential race was assured and the crowd eagerly awaited Tsai’s official acceptance speech.
Meanwhile Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), the KMT party chairman, stepped down. Han Kuo-yu conceded defeat with a rational speech that called for calm among his supporters and reinforced the principles of the democratic process.
Tsai delivered her victory speech just after 9 p.m., in which she called for her supporters to show grace and tact and took six questions from domestic and international media. The action on stage then went live again for those gathered to witness the moment, including one couple who had managed to climb onto a nearby water tower to get a glimpse over the densely packed crowd which, by now, reached up into the neighboring park.
Tsai’s entrance was met with rapturous cheers from those gathered to witness the moment. During the address, which lasted around 30 minutes, Tsai described Taiwan as a “fortress of democracy” and thanked her supporters describing her role as leader of the nation as “the greatest honor of my life.”
Tsai reiterated her promise to work hard for the electorate and thanked those who had not voted for her for playing their role as democratic citizens, describing all Taiwanese as one family. The speech ended with confetti cannons, each slip printed with a message expressing unity and pride in sovereignty and democracy, released over the crowd signaling an end to the festivities, if not the mass elation.
“I feel all Taiwanese should be really proud of ourselves today,” Chloe said. “We showed our determination to fight for freedom and democracy and show the world how much we want to protect our home.”
Thank you, Taiwan. pic.twitter.com/SZVSOtJtT4
— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) January 11, 2020
The election, many voters said, sent a statement to the world: Taiwan is proud of its democracy and hungry for greater recognition by the global community.
Sherry, 45, said she was moved that Tsai had received a record number of votes—over 8 million—and that Taiwan would continue to become better through its democracy.
An overjoyed Lola, 42, said she hoped for a future where Taiwan and China would be treated as equals and that Taiwan would be permitted to enter the United Nations.
“We hope that the world can recognize Taiwan as a country,” she said.
Tsai’s convincing victory highlighted a complete rejection of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s favored “one country, two systems” framework for Taiwan, Lola said.
She expressed hope that Chinese citizens might draw inspiration from Taiwan’s elections and try to fight for democracy within China—a reminder that even as Taiwan rejects the influence of Beijing, many voters stand with the people of China.
But attention quickly turned to the domestic issues the DPP will confront during its next four years in power.
Recently, some candidates have pushed for Taiwan to lower its voting age to 18, notably DPP legislative candidate Enoch Wu (吳怡農), who lost his bid against KMT legislator Wayne Chiang (蔣萬安), and independent Freddy Lim (林昶佐), who was reelected in the Wanhua/Zhongzheng district.
Chloe said she approved of the idea, but suspected that it may not be possible to realize it this term as there was much work for the administration to do in the next four years.
Chloe, 25, saw Tsai’s win as a clear expression of Taiwan’s commitment to democracy.
Tommy, 25, said he hoped Tsai’s recently announced policy to provide more funding for entrepreneurs would give him a more stable and economically secure footing over the next four years.
For some, however, Han Kuo-yu is not yet out of the picture—including for Tommy, who said he’ll have to carefully navigate his journey home for Lunar New Year to see his parents, who were Han supporters.
Tommy said he would acknowledge his happiness with the results, but otherwise steer clear of political discussions.
Tiffany, 45, went to Kaohsiung to cast her vote on Saturday morning before returning to Taipei. She said the high-speed rail had been packed with young voters, adding that Tsai’s success was in large part due to the dedication of younger Taiwanese to go home and vote.
The situation in Hong Kong only further inspired young people to come out and “protect Taiwan’s democracy,” she said.
Tiffany is one of many Kaohsiung residents unhappy with Han’s term as Kaohsiung’s mayor, and she signed an initial recall petition to remove the man she calls an “unreliable, lazy liar.”
She believes Kaohsiung will come together to advance the process to its second stage, citing last December’s rally to recall Han and the DPP’s strong showing in Kaohsiung as evidence that the city is sick of its mayor.
Election weekend passed calmly in Taiwan, in large part due to the efforts of Tsai and Han to encourage their supporters to be dignified in their respective victory and loss. However, the campaign has left its mark on Taiwan’s civil society.
Hong, 40, said he hoped the two major parties would take steps to encourage people to work together and have productive conversations.
“We were nervous because a win for Han Kuo-yu would have probably meant a turn toward China,” he said. “I think most young people don’t want this kind of China influence.”
Onlookers cheer as results roll in outside DPP headquarters in Taipei.
The KMT, which now faces a path forward riddled with questions, will almost certainly go back to the drawing board. Hong said he believed that the party would try to re-organize and probably appoint a younger person as chair, mentioning 2016 presidential candidate and former party chair Eric Chu (朱立倫) as a likely candidate. “The KMT has a long history, it’s an old party,” he said. “Of course there are a lot of things that they need to fix.”
As the night wrapped up, the streets slowly emptied as a few stragglers hung around to have a beer or two outside the local convenience store. A passerby played Fire EX’s democracy anthem “Island’s Sunrise” from the cell phone in his bike basket. People chitchatted about their relief, excitement, hopes and fears for the next four years.
Taiwan, they felt, had once again demonstrated to the world that democracy is the defining value of their country—a country that many Taiwanese, in line with their president, believe deserves to be officially recognized and supported by the international community.
(All photos by Cat Thomas)
