China's Xi warns Taiwan over independence ahead of election

Taiwan's president has urged Beijing to respect the outcome of this month's elections, declaring that the self-governing island's future must be determined by its people alone. Speaking hours after President Xi Jinping of China said in a new year's message that reunification with the mainland was inevitable, Tsai Ing-wen said the most important principle was democracy. "This is taking the joint will of Taiwan's people to make a decision. After all, we are a democratic country," she said. Ms Tsai's vice-president, Lai Ching-te, from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is the front-runner to succeed her after an election on January…