OPPOSITION FAVOURED TO WIN PRESIDENTIAL RACE
TAIPEI Taiwan’s China-friendly Nationalist Party appears likely to lose power to the pro-independence opposition in Saturday’s presidential election, amid concerns that the island’s economy is under threat from China and broad opposition among voters to Beijing’s demands for political unification.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s Tsai Ing-wen is poised to become the self-governing island’s first female president, returning the main opposition party to power after eight years under Nationalist President Ma Ying-jeou, who is constitutionally barred from another term.
The outcome of the contest for a majority in the 133-seat legislature remains uncertain, with independents and smaller parties posing a threat to both the Nationalists and the DPP.
Candidates spent the day Friday touring their districts in a final appeal to voters on the island of 23 million.
“This is not about defeating the other party. This is about working to overcome the obstacles in Taiwan’s path,” Tsai told supporters gathered in the rain at a final rally in front of the presidential office building in the centre of the capital, Taipei.
A win for Tsai would introduce new uncertainty in the complicated relationship between Taiwan and mainland China, which claims the island as its own territory and threatens to use force if it declares formal independence.