China must respect Taiwan's choice to maintain distance

Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won Taiwan's presidential election on Saturday. Amid its ongoing push to reinforce its robust democracy, Taiwan maintained its position of distancing itself from the communist dictatorship of China. In other words, the status quo continues between the two governments. Beijing must respect the will of the Taiwanese voters and refrain from further military intimidation.

The composition of the candidates in this past presidential election was radically different from that of previous races. All three contenders were born in Taiwan: Lai, current vice president and the successor-elect to outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen; Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang, the largest opposition party; and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party. None of them hail from mainland China.