Voters in Taiwan defied a heavy pressure campaign from China, choosing Beijing’s least favored candidate as president Saturday in a win that will likely stoke further tensions between the island democracy and its communist neighbor. Sitting Vice President Lai Ching-te — who Beijing has branded a “troublemaker” — claimed presidential victory with 40% of the vote in a three-way race. China, which claims Taiwan as its own, had favored Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang, who came in second with 33% of the vote. Hou had promised to restart diplomatic talks with the CCP. The upstart Taiwan People’s Party, led by Ko Wen-je, got 26% of the vote for a third-place finish. “The Taiwanese people have successfully resisted efforts from external forces to influence this election,” Lai exulted in his acceptance speech. Read more at https://nypost.com/2024/01/13/news/taiwan-voters-re-elect-anti-china-ruling-party-to-third-term/ #taiwan #elections #china The New York Post is your source for breaking news, news about New York, sports, business, entertainment, opinion, real estate, culture, fashion, and more. Subscribe to New York Post Sports: https://www.youtube.com/c/nypostsports Catch the latest news here: https://nypost.com/ Follow The New York Post on: Twitter - https://twitter.com/nypost Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/NYPost