Original Author: Wu Yi
Wu Yi, a Taiwan scholar from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, provides an in-depth analysis of the January 2024 legislative and executive elections in Taiwan. Wu suggests Lai Ching-te’s poor performance relative to Tsai Ing-wen in 2020 and gains for the opposition in the legislature foreshadow growing political polarization in Taiwan and uncertainties for cross-Strait relations going forward.
Wu Yi, the director of the political economy research department at the Taiwan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzes Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan (LY) elections, which took place in January 2024. Wu argues that the strong performance of the KMT (Beijing’s preferred party) and TPP in the elections mean the LY will serve as a stabilizing force for cross-Strait relations going forward, given the support in both parties for greater cross-Strait engagement and shared opposition to what Wu frames as the “independence” leanings of Lai Ching-te, then the president-elect from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).