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Liberal International (LI) and the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), which has just concluded a joint election mission to Taiwan are pleased to have been present to support and applaud the historic election result of our member party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). That, for the first time in the country’s history, the Taiwanese people voted to elect a president from the same party for a third consecutive time is a testament to the support DPP enjoys nationally and a strong endorsement of our shared liberal values.
In this ‘year of democracy’, in which over 70 countries representing around 4 billion people will go to the polls, we are especially proud that in electing DPP’s Presidential candidate William Lai and Vice-Presidential Candidate Bi-khim Hsiao – a former LI vice president and CALD Chair – the Taiwanese people have rejected the trend towards populism regionally and globally in the context of democratic decline.
Indeed, we were especially impressed with the peaceful and orderly conduct of the electoral process, and the political maturity of the Taiwanese electorate, and the jubilant celebration of democracy. That Taiwan has been able to preserve the integrity of the electoral process, despite intensified and sophisticated attempts to undermine it, attests to the commitment and resilience of the Taiwanese people to protect their hard-won political rights.
With this result, we know that Taiwan will remain a beacon of democracy for Asia and the rest of the world.
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