Too soon to write off KMT's underdog presidential election candidate Hung Hsiu-chu

After months of having our sights sequestered to within the 1,104 sq km of Hong Kong, most of us have been jolted out of this narrow focus, first by Greece, then mainland China. It was one topsy-turvy week, to be sure: the "victory for democracy" in the cradle of democracy only created more uncertainties, while the measures unleashed to halt the Chinese stock market tumble failed to work, and the panic spread to Hong Kong.

We are reminded again of how interconnected the world is, and how we must live with forces beyond our control.

Those of us searching for something that isn't in the red can look to Taiwan. In a few days, the Kuomintang will make official its 2016 presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu at its party congress, nominating her to take on the Democratic Progressive Party's Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan will host Asia's first all-female presidential race, and will usher in the island's first woman leader.

Other than gender, there are many reasons why this race will be the one to watch.

First, consider the curious circumstances from which Hung rose to become the KMT candidate. She threw herself into the KMT primary as bait to get heavyweights from within her party to step up to the plate. That didn't happen, and Hung ended up being the accidental candidate. Whatever she intended with her bid to run, she has become the unintended consequence.

In some ways, she has already won - her rise is the epitome of the triumph of the underdog. Hung gives cause for excitement in our world of sleep-inducing politics, where we're reduced to watching whose hands President Xi Jinping shakes. As members of the political peanut gallery - since we, minus the 1,200 people who will be selecting our next chief executive, won't be picking our leader any time soon - we have high hopes for Hung to give us a good political show. With a nickname like "Little Hot Pepper", she is sure to spice things up.