Taiwan: The presidential campaign kicks off

Taiwan’s presidential election campaign officially started on Monday, 20^th of November, as the deadline for candidates to register for the January election passed. Current Vice President William Lai, from the Democratic Progressive Party is the frontrunner, and his assertive views on cross-strait relations are disliked in Beijing. Under the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party relations with mainland China have deteriorated markedly. Meanwhile, the opposition is struggling to unify, with the Kuomintang and Taiwan’s People’s Party, both advocates of greater dialogue with Beijing but at loggerheads over who should be the lead candidate and who the running mate. Polling on the island has recently shown that the joint ticket could successfully surmount Lai’s frontrunner status. However, negotiations remain highly acrimonious and their results are uncertain. The future of Taiwan remains uncertain, especially if one considers that following the Xi-Biden meeting their differences on the issue remain marked.