Taiwan voters dismiss China warnings and hand ruling party a historic third consecutive presidential win

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party pulled off a historic third consecutive presidential victory on Saturday as voters shrugged off warnings by China that their re-election would increase the risk of conflict.

Posted 12:22 p.m. Jan 13 — Updated 12:53 p.m. Jan 13

Eric Cheung, Wayne Chang, Nectar Gan

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Jerome Taylor, CNN

CNN — Taipei, Taiwan (CNN) — Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party pulled off a historic third consecutive presidential victory on Saturday as voters shrugged off warnings by China that their re-election would increase the risk of conflict.

Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s current vice president, declared victory on Saturday evening while his two main opposition rivals both conceded defeat.

“I want to thank the Taiwanese people for writing a new chapter in our democracy. We have shown the world how much we cherish our democracy. This is our unwavering commitment,” Lai told the media, adding he had accepted congratulatory phone calls from his two opponents.

“We are telling the international community that between democracy and authoritarianism, we will stand on the side of democracy. The Republic of China, Taiwan will continue to walk side by side with democracies from around the world,” Lai said.

Results from Taiwan’s Central Election Committee, which were still being finalized when the victory and concession speeches were being made, showed Lai with 41 percent of the popular vote while his two main rivals trailed with 33 percent and 26 percent respectively.

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