Taiwan’s 2020 Elections in Review

In January 2020, Taiwanese voters went to the polls to elect their president and legislature. The outcome was a crushing win for President Tsai Ing-wen for a second four-year term and another legislative majority for the Democratic Progressive Party. Tsai Ing-wen emerged with her stature elevated within her party, with the electorate and internationally.

The election brought together a range of themes and political practices, some specific to Taiwan others more general for contemporary democracies. The election had a distinctive focus on Taiwan’s relationship with the PRC and featured the huge rallies and rich symbolism that makes Taiwanese election campaigns so compelling. It also included themes of populism, foreign interference and the future of progressivism that other democracies have also been wrestling with.

This presentation will explore these different aspects of the election campaign and discuss their implications for Taiwan’s future and for regional and international relations.