Tsai Ing-wen regains some ground but youth vote may hold the key to Taiwan’s election
- After she is officially named DPP candidate for next year’s poll, president says young people ‘will be the most critical factor’
- Tsai has managed to use opposition to ‘one country, two systems’ and Hong Kong’s extradition bill controversy to win back support, according to analyst
After Tsai was officially named last week as the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party candidate for the presidential election in January, she emphasised the need to safeguard the self-ruled island’s sovereignty against persistent threats from Beijing – and acknowledged that the youth vote was crucial.
“We all must realise that the DPP must respond to the needs and aspirations of young people … who will be the most critical factor in this democratic election,” she said on Wednesday after defeating former premier William Lai Ching-te in the primary race.

A separate opinion poll released by the Green Party on Wednesday had Tsai as the front runner in the 2020 election, with 31.8 per cent of respondents supporting her run for a second term, while 28.1 per cent backed Han and 26 per cent for Ko.
