Taiwan's Election Yields Four More Years of DPP Rule -- and China Tensions

In Taiwan, the ruling party's continued control of the presidency will see China steadily escalate its military and economic coercion against Taipei in the coming years, which will impede U.S.-China efforts to curb strategic competition, while presenting a low risk of blockades or an invasion of Taiwan's outlying islands. William Lai of Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won the Jan. 13 presidential election with 40% of the vote, versus 33% for Hou Yu-ih of the conservative opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) and 26% for Ko Wen-je of the centrist Taiwan People's Party (TPP). Lai's victory will give the DPP an unprecedented third consecutive term in the presidency, with current President Tsai Ing-wen set to step down in May after reaching a two-term limit. Despite Lai's presidential win, the DPP lost its majority in the Legislative Yuan, Taiwan's unicameral legislature; while no party secured a new majority, the KMT gained a...