Apr 22, 2011

Taiwan: Upcoming Presidential Elections


The ruling party will compete with the current opposition for determining the  political route of the Taiwan during the presidential election on January 2012.



Below is an article published by Wall Street Journal


Taiwan will hold its presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 14, 2012, with the island combining the elections for the first time to save costs, the Central Election Commission said Thursday.

The elections, which will pit the ruling Kuomintang against the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, will be a gauge of the public's support for landmark steps taken by the ruling party in recent years to warm political and economic relations with China.

Ma Ying-jeou, the current president, will end his four-year term in office on May 20 next year. He is likely to run again for the top post in January's presidential election, while Tsai Ing-wen and Su Tseng-chang are widely tipped as the most likely candidates to represent the DPP.

Taiwan and China signed a landmark trade deal last year that reduces tariffs and trade barriers, and liberalizes cross-strait investment. The effects of the trade deal will be one of the key issues in the 2012 elections, political analysts say.