President Lai congratulates Trump on election victory

Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) has congratulated former U.S. President Donald Trump on his re-election win while expressing confidence that the bilateral partnership between Taiwan and the U.S. will continue to flourish.

"On behalf of the government and people of Taiwan, President Lai Ching-te extends his congratulations to the Republican Party's presidential candidate Donald Trump on being elected U.S. president and [his running mate] J.D. Vance on being elected the vice president," Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a press release on Wednesday evening.

Lai expressed a similar congratulatory message on his social media account while noting he is "confident that the longstanding Taiwan-U.S. partnership, built on shared values and interests, will continue to serve as a cornerstone for regional stability and lead to greater prosperity for us all."

The president also thanked the U.S. government led by President Joe Biden of the Democratic Party for its strong support of Taiwan, Kuo said in the Presidential Office statement.

In addition, Kuo noted that relations between Taiwan and the U.S. "have remained strong and continued to deepen over the years regardless of which political party is in power."

Taiwan "highly values the long-standing friendship" between the two sides and will continue to "work closely with the new U.S. administration and Congress to bring about a new chapter in Taiwan-U.S. relations," Kuo said.

At the same time, she took note of "increasingly unstable" global circumstances in recent times and emphasized Washington's "critical role in the continued development of democracy."

"The responsibility of the new president is particularly significant," she said, adding that Taiwan "is willing to be the U.S.' most trusted partner" and jointly strive for security and stability in the international community.

Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday evening it had instructed Taiwan's representative office in Washington to forward President Lai's congratulatory letter to the president-elect.

Meanwhile, the Executive Yuan said Taipei would continue to strengthen cooperation with Washington in trade and other areas.

As of 7:40 p.m. on Wednesday (Taipei time), Trump had secured 277 Electoral College votes, surpassing the 270 needed to win the race, while his main opponent Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, trailed with 224 votes, according to the Associated Press.

Trump declared victory earlier as he addressed supporters at his campaign headquarters in Florida.

The 78-year-old president-elect was first elected U.S. president in 2016.

He had a telephone conversation with former President Tsai Ing-en (蔡英文) later that year, marking the first time since 1979 a U.S. president or president-elect had directly spoken with a Taiwanese president.

The Republican Party scored a major victory in the 2024 elections.

In addition to Trump's successful comeback after losing his re-election bid in 2020, the Republican Party also gained control of the Senate in the down-ballot races and is likely to secure a majority in the House of Representatives.