Opposition gets top seat at Taiwan’s legislature

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – A lawmaker from Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (Nationalist) party was elected speaker of Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Han Kuo-yu rose to top seat at the Legislative Assembly, locally known as Yuan, after Jan. 13 elections resulted in a divided house of 113 lawmakers.

Incumbent Vice-President William Lai Ching-te handed the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) an unprecedented third-term win but lost majority in the legislature which is expected to create hurdles in the president-elect’s policies.

Han won in the second round after he failed to secure majority as Kuomintang won 52, DPP 51, Taiwan People's Party (TPP) eight, and the independents won two seats in the January elections.

In the first round, the TPP voted for their own candidate, triggering runoff for the post of speaker and later abstained from voting paving way for Kuomintang to get the coveted seat with support from the independents.

The results mean that the opposition party is likely to dominate the agenda in Taiwan's 11th Legislature, which has a 42% representation by women.

All lawmakers were sworn-in on Thursday and the term of legislature, which has 54 new members, ends in 2028.

Taiwan's election results are seen crucial as Beijing deems the ruling DPP as “separatist,” since under their rule, Taipei has increased interaction with the US, China’s arch rival.

China has routinely flown its jets and sailed naval vessels around Taiwan, which it calls its “breakaway province” while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

“If the DPP refuses to repent and keeps following the evil path of separatism-minded provocations and the old road of cross-Strait confrontation, it will only push Taiwan into a more dangerous situation," said Chen Binhua, the spokesman for China’s State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

The US and its allies have also used Taiwan Strait for aerial and maritime navigation, angering Beijing which claims full control over the waterway.

Japan joined the US to conduct exercises near Taiwan this week while Washington has expanded its military presence in nearby Philippines, which also has rift with China in the disputed waters of South China Sea.

Taipei said China Thursday flew 33 aircraft and sailed six naval vessels around Taiwan.