On a gorgeous, sunny Saturday, Taiwan held its presidential election: 14 million people, or 72% of eligible voters, turned out to vote – my elderly parents among them. As with many families in Taiwan, ours is politically divided along generational lines, and we’ve had our share of screaming matches. But somehow, on voting day, we were at peace. “I’m proud of you,” I said, snapping a photo. And I meant it. We live in a democracy, and we all appreciate it. Afterwards, we lunched at a spot that had a particularly excellent three-cup chicken – and then, ice-cream.
My story is far from unique. My social media feed was filled with friends whose multigenerational families – many of whom disagreed with each other – travelled to the polls together. Later that day, we learned that Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive party (DPP) had scored an unprecedented third consecutive win.
