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Taiwan elections 2020
ChinaDiplomacy

Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu enters Taiwan’s presidential race

  • Politician won a landslide victory in November’s local elections and is regarded as Beijing’s preferred candidate for the island’s top post
  • Former businessman, who attracted the support of 150,000 people at a rally last weekend, already ahead of incumbent Tsai Ing-wen in polls

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Taiwan presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu is joined by about 150,000 supporters at a rally in Taipei on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Lawrence Chungin Taipei

The mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu, has joined the race to become Taiwan’s next president, with observers saying that if he wins his party’s nomination to challenge for the top job the contest may be seen as a proxy for the tense dispute between Beijing and Washington.

Han, a former businessman who represents the Kuomintang (KMT), overturned a huge majority to win the Kaohsiung seat – previously held by President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) – in November’s local elections.

His popularity was seen by many as the catalyst for the KMT winning 15 of the 22 city and county seats up for grabs in the poll. Such was the scale of the victory that Tsai promptly stepped down as chairwoman of the DPP.

Han, who is widely regarded as Beijing’s preferred candidate for the presidential election in January, announced his candidacy on Wednesday.

The public came out in force on Saturday to show their support for Han Kuo-yu. Photo: AFP
The public came out in force on Saturday to show their support for Han Kuo-yu. Photo: AFP

The 61-year-old said that when he was asked by the KMT selection committee if he felt he had the necessary drive and desire to become president, he replied: “Yes I do.”

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