Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

A few hours from now, voters in Taiwan will begin heading to the polls to cast their vote in this year’s election. Three candidates are competing for the spot of president, in a race that appears to be too close to call at this point. (Taiwan implements a blackout period on opinion polls starting 10 days before the election, so it’s difficult to tell precisely who’s in the lead). Lai Ching-te, current vice president, is running for the incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP); Hou Yu-ih is the Kuomintang (KMT), or Nationalist, party’s candidate; and Ko Wen-je is the candidate from the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). As you’ll see in the stories and commentaries linked below, a myriad of issues swirl around this election: domestic concerns in Taiwan, generational shifts, relations with the PRC, and Taiwan’s ties with the United States.

The Basics

China Talk podcast, “Taiwan’s Election Explained”
Rosa de Acosta, Krystina Shveda, and Marco Chacon, “A visual guide to Taiwan’s high-stakes presidential election”
GZero Media, “Taiwan holds first big election of 2024”
Aaron Mc Nicholas, “Taiwan’s Election at a Glance”
Lev Nachman and Wen-Ti Sung, “Get up to speed on Taiwan’s upcoming elections” [from late November, but still a helpful overview]
— Lev Nachman is also co-author, with Jonathan Sullivan, of Taiwan: A Contested Democracy Under Threat, which I haven’t yet read but have heard is an excellent new introduction to the history and politics of the island.

Reporting Live from Taiwan

The rallies, and their chants of “frozen garlic,” are a central ritual in Taiwan’s democracy. The rival parties display their candidates and policies under flashing stage lights, accompanied by banners, chants, singers and celebrities. Some feature dancers with tight outfits and flirty moves not often seen onstage in American presidential campaigning.

Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, with photographs and video by Lam Yik Fei, “‘Frozen Garlic!’ Taiwan Likes Its Democracy Loud and Proud”

Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, with photographs by Lam Yik Fei, “Taiwan Party, Reviled by China, Battles to Prove Its Staying Power”
Amy Chang Chien and Chris Buckley, “The Wild Card in Taiwan’s Election: Frustrated Young Voters”
Eric Cheung, “As election nears in Taiwan, many young voters say China isn’t their biggest concern”

While China looms large over the election, domestic issues are important, too. The number one concern for voters is the economy, according to surveys. That reflects the fact that real wages have grown by an average of just 1% over the past decade. Affordable housing remains out of reach for many young people. The opposition parties blame the DPP for economic mismanagement, holding the party responsible for egg shortages and power blackouts that have hit the island in recent years.

Helen Davidson, Amy Hawkins, and Chi Hui Lin, “Inflatables, hip-hop rallies, and a missile alarm: Taiwan to vote in election that’s too close to call”

Amy Qin, “For Taiwanese Americans, Voting Back Home Takes More Than a Postage Stamp”
Alice Su and David Rennie, “What is at stake in Taiwan’s upcoming elections?” episode of Drum Tower podcast

Cross-Strait Relations

Josh Chin, “Taiwan Fights Onslaught of Chinese Disinformation Ahead of Key Election”
Josh Chin and Joyu Wang, “China Confronts a New Political Reality in Taiwan: No Friends”
Ryan Ho Kilpatrick and Alex Colville, “When It Comes to Taiwan, China Hopes ‘Tomorrow Will Be Better’”
Didi Tang, “US plans to send an unofficial delegation to Taiwan to meet its new leader amid tensions with China”
Kenton Thibaut, “Can China Swing Taiwan’s Elections?”
William Yang, “Chinese election interference tests Taiwan’s capability to defend freedom of speech”

Commentary and Analysis

On the campaign trail in Taiwan, politics and religion converge. Temples are pivotal stops for anyone seeking office — be they dedicated to local folk gods, Daoist deities, Buddhist divinities, or an amalgamation thereof. But it’s about a lot more than just appearing devout: temples are linchpins in many communities, particularly in rural areas. They’re so enmeshed in local power networks, in fact, that many are concerned about their ties to criminal gangs and even the Chinese Communist Party.

Lingua Sinica newsletter, “Gods of Democracy” — links to a Chinese-language feature by CommonWealth Magazine on temple visits by this year’s presidential candidates

Nathan Batto, “Questions about China dominate Taiwanese elections, but not necessarily in the way you might think”
Etienne Höra, Cora Jungbluth, and Peter Walkenhorst, “Taiwan Election: The EU Should Help Maintain the Status Quo”
Phelim Kine, “Here’s how Taiwan’s election could upend US-China relations”

Michelle Kuo, “Pre-election jitters”

Taiwan’s accomplishments were made possible in part by decades of stability between China and the United States. But that is rapidly fading away as the two global rivals descend into distrust and competition. Steps being taken by both sides in that deteriorating relationship are threatening Taiwan’s resilience, its ability to innovate and, importantly, the ability of our people to stay united amid this challenge. The real loser in the U.S.-China competition may end up being Taiwan.

Syaru Shirley Lin, “Taiwan’s Tightrope Has Become a Knife Edge”

Joseph Menn, Naomi Nix, Cat Zakrzewski, and Pranshu Verma, “China’s meddling in Taiwan election presages year of misinformation threats”

Feature photo: “Presidential Office Building,” Taipei, Taiwan. Photo by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, via Wikimedia.