China ties on the line as Taiwan opposition splits in dramatic feud

TAIPEI, Nov 24 (Reuters) – Taiwan’s opposition parties, which seek closer ties with China, registered separate presidential candidates on Friday after splitting dramatically, easing the way for the ruling party, which champions the island’s own identity, to stay in power.

The Jan. 13 election is taking place as China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, steps up military and political pressure to force the island to accept its sovereignty claims.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and much smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), both campaigning to forge better ties with China, had agreed to work together against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but made no progress on plans for a united presidential ticket.

China, which has framed the election as a choice between “peace and war”, believes the DPP and its presidential candidates are dangerous separatists and has rebuffed offers of talks.

Late Thursday, the KMT walked out of last-ditch talks with the TPP held in front of reporters in a hotel conference room and shown live on television, after failing to reach agreement.

The talks were brokered by the billionaire founder of major Apple supplier Foxconn (2317.TW), Terry Gou, who is running as an independent candidate.

In one of the most dramatic moments, the KMT’s presidential candidate, Hou Yu-ih, read a private text message from TPP candidate Ko Wen-je in which Ko said Gou needed to “find a reason” to drop out of the presidential race.

Hou and Ko both announced their running mates on Friday morning – Hou choosing the fiery media personality Jaw Shaw-kong, while Ko from the much smaller TPP selected one of its lawmakers, Cynthia Wu, whose family is a major shareholder of conglomerate Shing Kong Group.

Gou, who has trailed far behind in the polls, has not said whether he will also register ahead of a 0930 GMT deadline. His team did not respond to multiple requests for comment on his plans, and he is widely expected to drop out of the race.

Hou, introducing Jaw, pledged to bring “stability to the Taiwan Strait and safety to Taiwan, which will assure the entire world”.

By contrast with the chaos in the opposition camp, a united DPP has been charging ahead in its election campaign, registering its presidential and vice presidential candidates on Tuesday.

The DPP’s Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s vice president, has consistently led in the polls.

Speaking at a campaign event late Thursday, Lai talked about his team’s busy schedule, discussing policy with voters and the media, and poured scorn on the opposition’s disunity.

“Should we dare to hand over the business of running the country to these people?” Lai said. “Of course this is not OK.”

But he said he was not resting on his laurels despite the opposition’s disunity, mentioning the 11 events he had attended that day.

“Is this getting elected while lying down?” Lai added, referring to previous comments by opposition politicians that their failure to unite would ensure Lai’s easy victory.

Taiwan’s stock market mostly brushed off the impact of the ongoing political drama, though travel-related plays dropped on concerns that relations with China would not improve and Chinese tourists would not return to Taiwan.

The tourism and hospitality sub-index (.THOI) was down more than 2% on early Friday trade. The benchmark index (.TWII) was up 0.1%.

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