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Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected president of Taiwan on Saturday January 11 despite Chinese support for her opponent. REUTERS / Tyrone Siu

The victory of Tsai Ing-wen, the outgoing president of Taiwan is a snub for Beijing because China clearly supported its opponent, the Kuomintang candidate, Han Kuo-yu, who was racing ahead a year ago. But it was before the events in Hong Kong that made the Taiwanese people aware of the risks of a rapprochement with Beijing.

With our correspondent in Shanghai, Simon Leplâtre

The Chinese learned of the outcome of the presidential election in Taiwan through a simple paragraph announcing the victory of the outgoing " leader ", Tsai Ing-wen. Under this lapidary dispatch, the comments are revealing: several Internet users simply ask " why?" ".

The answer is embarrassing for Chinese power and they will not read it in the state press, because officially in China, Taiwan, which nevertheless has all the characteristics of a sovereign state, is still a renegade province, which must be taken back by force if necessary.

Not only is it Taiwan as a Taiwanese identity, but it is also from an ideological point of view, a democratic regime which opposes a People's Republic of China which has long emphasized the fact that reunification was inevitable , but who today sees his arguments beaten by the good results of Tsai Ing-wen.

Valérie Niquet, head of the Asia pole at the Foundation for Strategic Research 12/01/2020 - by Christophe Paget Listen

In the aftermath of the election, the Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a minimalist statement saying that, regardless of Taiwan's internal situation, " There is only one China and Taiwan is part of China ."

In addition, a comment was published by the new China agency this morning: Tsai is not called president there, but " directing ", or " leader ". And the text accuses his party of having resorted to tactics of intimidation, cheating and buying votes. The editorial ends with a warning: if the Taiwanese leader persists on the road to independence, this will only accelerate her " disillusionment ", understand, the annexation of Taiwan.