Taiwan election 2024: DPP senses victory in ‘perfect match’ Lai-Hsiao ticket but for Beijing it might ‘mean war’
- Presidential front runner and ‘cat warrior’ diplomat complement each other’s political skills and voter appeal in a boost for the ruling party
- But with Beijing seeing ‘a union of pro-independence separatists’, stormy cross-strait ties ‘are inevitable’ if the duo is elected, analyst says
But victory could mean further a deterioration in cross-strait relations as Beijing sees the pair as a “union of pro-independence separatists” that for Taiwan could “mean war”, they said.
Lai, vice-president and the DPP presidential candidate, picked Hsiao, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, as his running mate last week. The ticket was hailed by DPP lawmakers as a “perfect match” that would further boost Lai’s chances on January 13.
03:24
Taiwan’s presidential front runner Lai Ching-te picks de facto envoy to US as running mate
Hsiao, 52, identified herself as a “cat warrior” when she worked in Washington as Taiwan’s representative to the US – a description to draw contrast with Beijing’s Wolf Warrior diplomacy. She resigned on Monday before accepting Lai’s offer as the vice-presidential candidate.
With her reputation as a calm, rational and highly capable politician who is highly regarded in the political, diplomatic and academic circles of Washington, Hsiao – a former legislator and a close confidante of incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen – is seen as a strong boost to Lai’s candidacy, Taiwanese observers said.
“They are complementary to each other,” said Wang Yeh-lih, a political-science professor at National Taiwan University in Taipei.