Taiwan president-elect Lai Ching-te 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. The 64-year-old Lai emerged victorious in an election Saturday on the island of 23 million people that China claims as its own. He is vice president with the Democratic Progressive Party which has rejected China’s sovereignty claims over Taiwan. Lai vowed on Saturday night that 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. But Beijing has refused to communicate with the island’s leaders in recent years.