Vote counting got under way on Saturday in a Taiwan election held in the shadow of threats from China that choosing the wrong leader could set the stage for war on the self-ruled island.
Beijing slammed 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 move towards Taiwanese independence.
