Despite all the gestures of threat and smear campaigns by the communist leadership in Beijing, a majority of Taiwanese citizens apparently did not succumb to intimidation. They elected the China-critical William Lai Ching-te from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) as Taiwan’s new president. After counting votes from 98 percent of polling stations, the 64-year-old Lai, previously the vice president, secured 40.2 percent. His main rival, Hou Yu-ih, nominated by the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT), trailed significantly with 33.4 percent. The opposition had already conceded defeat.