On Saturday (1/13), voters in Taiwan elected incumbent vice president Lai Ching-te to serve as president, the first time an incumbent party has won a third successive presidential election. What was the PRC's reaction and what does Lai's election mean for cross-strait relations and the U.S.-Taiwan relationship?

Flash Focus welcomes Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute, and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Riley Walters to discuss Taiwanese democracy in action and the diplomatic ramifications for the Indo-Pacific.

Mentioned in the Episode: Taiwan's Election Matters to America

Jump to:

00:01:05 Elections recap—who ran & who won?

00:04:40 Reaction from the PRC & China's democratic neighbors

00:07:42 Lai's foreign policy & the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations

00:12:32 Foreign policy in Taiwan's politics—consensus on key questions & debate over cross-strait relations

00:17:44 Xi Jinping's intentions towards Taiwan