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The election was watched closely by both Beijing and Washington (Representational)

Beijing:

China said “reunification” with Taiwan was still “inevitable” after president-elect Lai Ching-te won Saturday’s pivotal election on the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own.

The vote “will not impede the inevitable trend of China’s reunification”, Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua said in a statement carried by state news agency Xinhua.

The results of the vote, Chen said, showed that Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) “cannot represent the mainstream public opinion on the island”.

Lai delivered an unprecedented third consecutive term for the DPP after a raucous campaign in which he pitched himself as the defender of Taiwan’s democratic way of life.

Chen said the vote “will not change the basic landscape and development trend of cross-Strait relations”.

Beijing’s stance on “realizing national reunification remains consistent, and our determination is as firm as rock,” he said.

He said Beijing “firmly oppose(s) the separatist activities aimed at ‘Taiwan independence’ as well as foreign interference”.

The election was watched closely by both Beijing and Washington, Taiwan’s main military partner, as the two powers tussle for influence in the strategically vital region.

In a New Year’s address, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the “unification” of Taiwan with China was “inevitable”.

And in the run-up to the vote, Beijing warned that Lai was a “severe danger” who would threaten peace by following the “evil path” of independence.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)