Post by Admin on Jan 1, 2024 3:22:49 GMT
KAOHSIUNG/TAIPEI -- Taiwan's presidential election next month will be a pivotal moment in the island's history: Its outcome could solidify the territory's always-precarious sovereignty, plunge it into conflict with China, or set it on a trajectory toward incorporation into its larger neighbor.
The front-runner in the three-horse race is Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The 64-year-old son of a coal miner is a fierce defender of Taiwan's sovereignty, welcoming the continued support of the U.S. and like-minded partners. He has made Hsiao Bi-khim, who until November was Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., his running mate on the DPP ticket.
Their main opponents are Hou Yu-ih and Jaw Shaw-kong, candidates for president and vice president, respectively, from the largest opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT). Hou is a policeman-turned-mayor, while Jaw is a conservative media commentator. They, too, vow to protect Taiwan, but through negotiation, consensus and compromise with China.
Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, of the upstart populist Taiwan People's Party (TPP), and his running mate, Wu Hsin-ying, a young female lawmaker from the Shin Kong Group business dynasty, make up the third leg of the electoral triad, after an effort to team up with the KMT fell apart last month.
"The 2024 election is a choice on the path this country will take," said Miao Po-ya, an activist running for a parliamentary seat in Taipei. Hailing from the DPP-backed Social Democratic Party, she added that the presidential race will determine Taiwan's foreign policy, national security and defense, and its relations with China.
Communist China has never ruled the island democracy of 23.5 million people, which Beijing sees as its territory. But China's regular threats that subsuming Taiwan by force is an option have taken on special urgency in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has forced Taiwan's electorate to imagine previously unthinkable conflicts. January's election is overshadowed by the prospect of war, which each of the contenders has said they alone can prevent.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who expanded Taiwan's international presence and defense capabilities despite China's attempts to isolate her government, is constitutionally barred from a third term. This has opened a leadership vacuum that the DPP, TPP and the KMT aim to fill.
The election will decide "how determined we are to defend ourselves and Taiwan's free and democratic way of life," said Miao.
Whoever wins -- recent polls show a close race between the DPP and KMT, with the TPP not far behind -- the Jan. 13 vote is likely to be Asia's most consequential election of 2024. It has been characterized by all sides as a moment of truth.
The front-runner in the three-horse race is Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The 64-year-old son of a coal miner is a fierce defender of Taiwan's sovereignty, welcoming the continued support of the U.S. and like-minded partners. He has made Hsiao Bi-khim, who until November was Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the U.S., his running mate on the DPP ticket.
Their main opponents are Hou Yu-ih and Jaw Shaw-kong, candidates for president and vice president, respectively, from the largest opposition party, Kuomintang (KMT). Hou is a policeman-turned-mayor, while Jaw is a conservative media commentator. They, too, vow to protect Taiwan, but through negotiation, consensus and compromise with China.
Former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, of the upstart populist Taiwan People's Party (TPP), and his running mate, Wu Hsin-ying, a young female lawmaker from the Shin Kong Group business dynasty, make up the third leg of the electoral triad, after an effort to team up with the KMT fell apart last month.
"The 2024 election is a choice on the path this country will take," said Miao Po-ya, an activist running for a parliamentary seat in Taipei. Hailing from the DPP-backed Social Democratic Party, she added that the presidential race will determine Taiwan's foreign policy, national security and defense, and its relations with China.
Communist China has never ruled the island democracy of 23.5 million people, which Beijing sees as its territory. But China's regular threats that subsuming Taiwan by force is an option have taken on special urgency in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has forced Taiwan's electorate to imagine previously unthinkable conflicts. January's election is overshadowed by the prospect of war, which each of the contenders has said they alone can prevent.
President Tsai Ing-wen, who expanded Taiwan's international presence and defense capabilities despite China's attempts to isolate her government, is constitutionally barred from a third term. This has opened a leadership vacuum that the DPP, TPP and the KMT aim to fill.
The election will decide "how determined we are to defend ourselves and Taiwan's free and democratic way of life," said Miao.
Whoever wins -- recent polls show a close race between the DPP and KMT, with the TPP not far behind -- the Jan. 13 vote is likely to be Asia's most consequential election of 2024. It has been characterized by all sides as a moment of truth.