Taiwan election: global leaders draw Beijing’s ire for congratulating new president

Chinese embassies urge UK and Japan not to interfere in ‘China’s internal affairs’ after they congratulated Lai Ching-te for election win

Global leaders have congratulated Lai Ching-te for winning Taiwan’s presidential election, praising the high turnout and democratic process – drawing ire from Beijing, which had hoped to see Taiwan’s ruling party ousted.

Lai won an unprecedented third term in power for the pro-sovereignty Democratic Progressive party (DPP) in Saturday’s election, with more than 40% of the vote. Lai is taking over from the DPP’s Tsai Ing-wen, who has been president since 2016, promising to continue her foreign policy efforts in resisting China’s plans to annex Taiwan.