Taiwan opposition parties register separate bids for presidential race in a boost for DPP and a worry for mainland China

Name: Taiwan's opposition parties fail to form joint ticket for presidential election
Uploaded: 2023-11-24T03:17:42.000Z
Duration: 2 min 28 s
Description: Taiwan's opposition parties fail to form joint ticket for presidential election

Kuomintang and Taiwan’s People Party failure to resolve differences is likely to help DPP’s William Lai, regarded by Beijing as a separatist

Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou also announced his withdrawal from the race on deadline day for bids to be registered

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Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (right) and his running mate Wu Hsin-ying arrive to register their candidacy at the Central Election Commission office in Taipei on Friday. Photo: Bloomberg

Yuanyue Dangin Beijing

Published: 11:17am, 24 Nov 2023Updated: 8:23pm, 24 Nov 2023

A deal between Taiwan’s two mainland-friendly opposition parties to run a joint ticket in January’s presidential election blew up on Friday, giving the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) an easier path to victory, in a potential blow to Beijing.

The main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had raised the prospect of a joint ticket – a combination that polls suggested was their best chance against Vice-President William Lai Ching-te, who has led the race since he won the DPP’s nomination in April.

But on Friday, the TPP’s Ko Wen-je and legislator Wu Hsin-ying registered to run together.

KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih also registered on Friday. His running mate is fellow KMT member and former legislator Jaw Shaw-kong, who is also CEO and chairman of the Broadcasting Corporation of China.

The registration capped weeks of back and forth in which the two Beijing-friendly parties failed to resolve a dispute over who would head a joint ticket.

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Taiwan's opposition parties fail to form joint ticket for presidential election

The failure is not expected to be welcomed in Beijing, which has labelled Lai and his running mate, Taipei’s former de facto ambassador to the US, Hsiao Bi-khim, as separatists.