Voters elect representatives from their geographic constituencies (73 seats) and vote separately for a political party, which then fields 34 legislators-at-large not tied to a particular electoral district. No single party won a majority in the body.
Lai’s lack of a popular mandate and opposition control of the legislature will tamp down China’s belligerence toward Taiwan’s new president.
Opposition control of the legislature will shelve controversial bills that touch on Taiwan’s constitution, a red line for Beijing.
The DPP’s long-standing desire to phase out nuclear energy will be delayed by legislative opposition.
The purchase of expensive US arms packages will draw more opposition scrutiny, but that will not derail defence purchases altogether.
