By Tom Grundy, Kelly Ho, Irene Chan and Mercedes Hutton in Taipei. Lai Ching-te, of the ruling, liberal Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), has won the 2024 Taiwan presidential election following a tight race. With the outgoing Tsai Ing-wen reaching her term limit, Lai has vowed to continue her efforts to strengthen diplomatic and military ties in order to fend off Beijing, which claims the democratic island as its own. Lai, 64, beat the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) candidate Hou Yu-ih, an ex-police chief who favoured more trade and dialogue lwith Beijing, who conceded defeat just before 8 pm….
