13/01/2020 (Agence Europe) – The spokesperson for the European External Action Service congratulated the people of Taiwan on Saturday 11 January on their high turnout in the presidential election, with a record 74.9%. The outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen, was re-elected for four years with 57.1% of the votes against the pro-Beijing candidate, Han Kuo-yu. “Our respective systems of governance are based on a shared commitment to democracy, the rule of law and human rights”, the spokesperson said in a statement. She recalled that the EU was closely following developments across the Taiwan Strait and had always encouraged “dialogue and constructive engagement”. Mrs Tsai refuses to recognise the principle of the unity of Taiwan and China within the same country, as requested by the authorities in Beijing. (CG)