Taiwan will head to elections on Saturday to elect a new president. These elections carry the potential for redefining the island-nation’s relationship with neighbour China. China has claimed Taiwan is a breakaway province and has not ruled out using force to ‘reunify’ Taiwan with the ‘motherland’.
Taiwan has emerged as a key flashpoint between the US and China, but it is not just China that has emerged as a key issue for Taiwanese voters. They are equally concerned about low wages and soaring home prices.
Contenders
The current vice president from outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen’s party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), William Lai Ching-te is one of the frontrunners who is a strong defender of Taiwan’s self-governing status. His candidature has angered China so much that Beijing has called for him to be tried under anti-secession laws. China also is unimpressed with his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, who it calls ‘diehard Taiwan independence separatist’.
The frontrunner from the main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), is Hou Yu-ih. He is a former police officer and former mayor of New Taipei. He has steered clear of commenting on China and did not push his pro-unity agenda during his electoral campaign. He opposes Taiwan independence but has dodged questions on One China policy. He, like his party, seeks eventual reunification with the mainland under a system it envisions as democratic and free. His running mate is Jaw Shaw-kong, a 73-year-old pro-Unity, veteran leader.
Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is the third frontrunner who accuses the DPP of being pro-war and the KMT of being ‘too deferential’. TPP is the third-largest party in Taiwan and is trying through its candidates to give Taiwanese people a third choice. However, Ko and his running mate, Cynthia Wu, a sitting MP, are seen as members of the Taiwanese elite, thus casting doubts on the amount of support these two shall get from the electorate.
What Is China Saying
China has warned the people of Taiwan by telling them not to re-elect the DPP. It also told the US to stay away from the Taiwanese elections. Beijing is also allegedly spearheading a misinformation-disinformation campaign, according to a report by news agency AFP, targeting Taiwanese voters and mocking the DPP.
At home it has kept its citizens in the dark by not giving media coverage to the elections there. China’s biggest news platforms — state news agency Xinhua, state broadcaster CCTV, and the party-run People’s Daily — dedicated only scant coverage on Friday to Taiwan’s election. Other state-run news agencies and social media commentators have denounced the elections and called for reunification of the island-nation with China.
Washington warned China against stoking tensions over the elections and the US secretary of state Antony Blinken will host Liu Jianchao, who heads the international division of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee to discourage Beijing from taking action against Taipei.
Process and Results
For the presidential election, the winner needs only a simple majority to win. There is no run-off election. For parliament, formally called the Legislative Yuan, each voter has two ballots, one for their local district candidate and the other for a party. The Legislative Yuan is the main lawmaking body. The term of a Legislative Yuan member is four years. New legislators will take office on February 1, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
The polls will begin on Saturday from 8am (local time) and will end at 4pm. Once the voting ends, counting of the ballots will begin. The results of the previous presidential elections held four years ago were released around 10:30pm (local time).
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