Supporters of Taiwanese presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou have set up their first overseas campaign group in Hong Kong.
About 400 fans of the Kuomintang candidate attended the launch of the Hong Kong Back-up Group for Ah Jeou last night.
Kuomintang Central Committee member and Taipei city councillor Ellen Lee Yen-hsiu said more support groups would be established in the United States, Germany, Australia and elsewhere.
Ms Lee hoped Taiwanese voters in the city would cast their ballots for the Hong Kong-born Mr Ma.
The party will make use of contact information collected by the group and call voters ahead of the March 22 election. There are about 100,000 Taiwanese citizens working in Hong Kong and 20,000 to 30,000 Hongkongers who have studied in Taiwan, according to group convenor Spencer Tai Cheuk-yin. But he said not many graduates had kept their Taiwanese passports.
To urge eligible Hongkongers to vote, Mr Tai said the group was reminding these graduates to renew their Taiwanese passports and register as overseas voters. He hoped 10 per cent would respond to the call.