00:00 Under a sea of confetti, Taiwan celebrates its new president.
00:07 The Vice President Lai Ching-de voted into the top job as the small island democracy
00:16 has its say.
00:19 I'm so proud of my country.
00:20 We choose the right path, the people choose the right path.
00:24 Taiwanese people are still willing to stand up and use our votes to support and defend
00:28 our democracy.
00:33 Their main opponent, Ho Yiu-Wei of the Kuomintang, apologised to supporters for letting them
00:38 down.
00:38 This is the outcome that Beijing was dreading. For the first time since democratisation,
00:45 the Taiwanese people have given a political party a third consecutive term and to one
00:50 that champions the island's own individual identity. This is a strong rebuke to China
00:56 that the Taiwanese want to determine their own future even in the face of growing threats
01:01 and military might.
01:04 The ruling party lost its majority in the parliament, making its job of governing more
01:08 difficult.
01:11 At home it'll have to address growing discontent among young people over housing prices and
01:16 cost of living pressures.
01:20 Across the strait it'll be a challenging balance between sovereignty and peace with
01:24 Beijing.
01:27 We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism
01:32 we will stand on the side of democracy.
01:36 That's a fight that looks set to only get harder.
01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]
Comments