Taiwan ruling party's Lai takes initial lead in presidential vote
By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard
TAIPEI (Reuters) -Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate for Taiwan's ruling party, took an initial lead in early vote counting on Saturday, potentially setting him on course to win an election that China had framed as a choice between war and peace.
Lai, Taiwan's vice president, reached more than three million votes by early evening after polls closed at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT), according by to a running tally by Taiwanese media, putting him comfortably ahead of his two rivals, though no party has conceded or claimed victory.
His Democratic Progressive Party, which champions Taiwan's separate identity and rejects China's territorial claims, is seeking a third term, unprecedented under Taiwan's current electoral system.
Lai is facing two opponents for the presidency — Hou Yu-ih of Taiwan's largest opposition party the Kuomintang, and former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the small Taiwan People's Party, only founded in 2019.
In the running vote tally reported by Taiwan media, Hou was in second place with some 2.7 million votes, while Ko had just over two million.
Speaking to reporters in the southern city of Tainan before voting, Lai encouraged people to cast their ballots.
«Every vote is valued, as this is Taiwan's hard-earned democracy,» he said in brief remarks.
In the run-up to the election, China repeatedly denounced Lai as a dangerous separatist and rebuffed his repeated calls for talks. Lai says he is committed to preserving peace across the Taiwan Strait and boosting the island's defences.
Taiwan's defence ministry said on Saturday morning it had again spotted Chinese balloons crossing the sensitive strait, one of which flew over Taiwan itself. The ministry has denounced the spate of
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