US election race being closely watched in Taiwan, where Trump is popular

Events to be held on the island for both Taiwanese and expats to watch poll results come in

American policy towards Taiwan is not likely to change dramatically whether Biden or Trump is elected, says business leader in Taipei

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A woman in Taipei watches the final presidential debate at her home last week. The Biden-Trump divide is evident even in Taiwan, where Trump has garnered support for his anti-China stance and Biden is viewed as capable of bringing stability to the region. Photo: CNA

Published: 9:30pm, 26 Oct 2020Updated: 10:46pm, 26 Oct 2020

The hotly contested US election between Republican President Donald Trump and his Democratic challenger Joe Biden is being closely watched in Taiwan by both Taiwanese and Americans.

And with just over a week until the poll, most American voters on the self-ruled island are expected to have already mailed their ballots back to their states.

While the American Institute in Taiwan – the de facto US embassy in the absence of official relations – has no plans at this stage to hold any public events for either Taiwanese or Americans to watch coverage of the November 3 poll, other American groups have arranged their own.

One of them is the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, or AmCham Taipei, which will hold a watch party with a live broadcast of the election from mid-morning on November 4, local time.

Democrats Abroad Taiwan will also host a watch party in Taipei starting from 8am. “We don’t expect there to be a full result, given the sheer number of mail-in ballots in states affected by the coronavirus,” said John Eastwood, an American lawyer and chairman of Democrats Abroad Taiwan.