Vote counting starts in key Taiwan election amid threats from China

Beijing has criticised frontrunner Lai Ching-te as a ‘separatist’ as it seeks to intimidate self-ruling island

Vote counting got under way on Saturday in Taiwan’s presidential election, held under the shadow of threats from China that choosing a leader it disapproves of could set the stage for war on the self-ruled island.

Beijing criticised frontrunner Lai Ching-te, the current-vice president, as a dangerous “separatist” in the days leading up to the poll and, on the eve of the vote, its defence ministry vowed to “crush” any Taiwanese independence attempts.