Taiwan Elections 2024: Who's contesting, what's at stake, and what China says? Explained
Taiwan, with over nineteen million people, of which one million are first-time voters, registered to cast their ballots across almost 18,000 polling stations in the island country. The voters will receive three ballots -- a presidential ballot, a regional or aboriginal legislator ballot, and a ballot for a political party that will determine legislator-at-large seats. Taiwanese voters will be choosing a successor to Tsai Ing-wen, the nation's first female president, who cannot seek re-election due to term limits after winning in 2016 and 2020.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by Tsai, is viewed unfavorably by China, which considers Taiwan a sovereign nation. 1) Lai Ching-Te: Lai Ching-te is currently Taiwan’s vice president from the Democratic Progressive Party, which rejects China’s sovereignty claims over the island. Years ago, the 64-year-old described himself as a “pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence," drawing criticism from Beijing.
If elected president, Lai has pledged to strengthen national defense and the economy and to continue in the policy direction set by Tsai. 2) Hou Yu-Ih: Hou Yu-ih is the candidate from Taiwan’s main opposition party Kuomintang, or KMT, whose government retreated to the island in 1949 after losing a civil war against the Chinese Communist Party. He served as the head of the island’s police force before transitioning to politics in 2010.
The 66-year-old is currently the mayor of New Taipei, a position from which he took leave to run for president. He has pledged to strengthen national defense and restart dialogue with Beijing. 3) Ko Wen-Je: The third presidential candidate, Ko Wen-je, represents the smaller Taiwan People’s Party, which he founded in 2019.
Read more on livemint.com
