Taiwan election blog: singer Chou Tzu-yu’s apology steals the show early, but will Tsai Ing-wen make history as first female president?
The people of Taiwan are expected to elect their first female president today, with the island's ties to China a deciding factor between opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen and her main challenger after voting kicks off at 8am.
All eyes are on whether the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party will rule both the executive and legislature branches for the first time.
Tsai of the China-sceptic DPP enjoys a comfortable lead over the ruling party candidate, largely due to widespread discontent over current president Ma Ying-jeou's policies, which have been criticised as too pro-Beijing.
Several polls conducted last week suggest Tsai is around 20 percentage points ahead of her main rival, Eric Chu Li-luan , the candidate for the ruling Nationalists (KMT).
But it is another Taiwanese lady - K-pop singer Chou Tzu-Yu - who has been drawing almost as much attention this morning after she issued an apology overnight through her South Korean entertainment agency for a flag-waving incident that may see her become a poster child for Taiwan’s independence.