Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated William Lai Ching-te of Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) after he emerged victorious in the 2024 Taiwan presidential election.

Lai was elected as the island's eighth president on Saturday (Jan. 13, 2024).

Singapore extends congratulations

“We welcome the successful conclusion of the elections and congratulate Dr William Lai and his party on their victory," a spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Jan. 14.

"Singapore shares a close and longstanding friendship with Taiwan and the Taiwanese people, and will continue to grow this relationship based on our 'One China' policy."

Adding that Singapore has consistently supported the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, the spokesperson said that "dialogue, building trust, and pursuing cooperation" will benefit both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

"This will contribute to the stability and prosperity of the wider region and be welcomed by Singapore and the international community," the spokesperson said.

DPP's third term

Lai's victory brought the DPP's reign into an unprecedented third term, following the two-term presidency of outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen since 2016.

@mothershipsg Taiwan’s 8th President #taiwan #taiwanelection #news ♬ original sound - Mothership

Lai won 40.1 per cent of the votes, while Kuomintang's (KMT) Hou You-ih, and Taiwan People's Party's (TPP) Ko Wen-je received 33.5 per cent and 26.5 per cent of the votes respectively, reported Reuters.

However, the DPP lost its parliamentary majority, winning 51 seats to the KMT's 52, while the TPP got eight.

Lai was reported by Reuters as admitting that the DPP had "many areas that need improvement" after losing the majority seats in parliament.

Lai reportedly said that he would cooperate with his electoral rivals in resolving problems that Taiwan faces.

Top photo via @MOFA_Taiwan/ X