Polls close in Taiwan election under China's glare (latest)

Election workers count ballots at a polling station during the presidential and parliamentary elections in New Taipei City, Taiwan, Saturday January 13, 2024.- Reuters

TAIPEI (AFP): Vote counting got under way Saturday in Taiwan's presidential 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.