2024 Taiwan Presidential Election Candidates

With the race for the 2024 Taiwan Presidential Election well underway, it’s time to see how well you know the candidates.

On January 13th 2024, Taiwan’s 23 million citizens will vote to elect their next president. A democratically-elected position that has only existed for 28 years since the introduction of Taiwan presidential elections in 1996, the next president has the power to change history in Taiwan…as well as the world.

Taiwan’s political playground has historically been dominated by two rivaling parties: the nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) and the progressive Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Things have shaken up for the 2024 Taiwan election, however, with the emergence of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), a newcomer that is already performing well in the polls, and an independent.

Now with the race for the Taiwan presidential election underway, it’s time to find out more about the former kidney doctor, former surgeon, former police chief, and billionaire vying for the top spot. In other words, let’s meet the 2024 Taiwan presidential election candidates.

Lai Ching-te: The Lean Green DPP Fighting Machine

No Taiwan 2024 presidential election candidate has had more experience than the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) hopeful Lai Ching-te (賴清德). Acting as current Vice President of Taiwan to President Tsai Ying-wen, with previous experience as the Taiwan Premier from 2017-2019, and the Mayor of Tainan, Mr Lai is no stranger to politics.

He’s also the leading favorite in the Taiwan presidential election 2024 polls, exceedingly popular amongst the locals as well as the international community. With his firm commitment to Taiwan as a sovereign nation, war deterrent, and friend of the United States and international allies, Lai Ching-te has already greatly distanced himself from the opposition.

Hou Yu-ih: The Struggling KMT Candidate

It’s been a rough couple of months for the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜). Plagued with a searing nursery school scandal in New Taipei City early in the race, followed by former KMT supporter Terry Gou joining the fray, things have not been going as planned for Hou Yu-ih in his first Taiwan presidential bid.

This, coupled with proposed policy backlash and poor campaigning, has threatened to put Hou Yu-ih out of the running on more than a few occasions. Something must be in the air though, because according to the latest Taiwan election poll Mr Hou has just scraped into second place with a 0.7% advantage over TPP hopeful Ko Wen-je.

Ko Wen-je: The New TPP Kid on the Block

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) is the newest political party in Taiwan. Though established in 2019 by then-Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) who was a key figure of Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement in 2014, the TPP have angled themselves as a calculated step away from the KMT that is decidedly avoidant of encroaching on the DPP.

A popular candidate among young people in Taiwan, Ko Wen-je is marketing himself as a centrist and as an alternative to the traditional blue (KMT) and green (DPP) choices. However, aside from being acting mayor for two terms, he has never held a role in international politics. It will therefore be interesting to see what his intended policies will be.

Terry Gou: The Independent

Christened the ‘Donald Trump of Taiwan’, Terry Gou is a billionaire and the founder and former chairman and CEO of Foxconn, the world’s largest manufacturer of electronics. A former KMT supporter, Mr Gou will be running as an independent in the Taiwan presidential election this year should he satisfy the necessary petition requirements to do so. (He will).

This is a particular slight to KMT Taiwan presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, to whom Mr Gou formerly pledged his support for (following his own loss in the KMT presidential primaries). Pundits are anticipating that the KMT vote will be split as a result of Terry Gou’s entrance into the race.

While it is still unclear what his domestic policies will look like, Terry Gou has already pledged his support in upholding the a variation of the “One China” policy, should he be elected. He is also under the impression that, for perhaps this reason, China will not stage an attack on Taiwan if he were president.

Conclusion

Rather than the Taiwan election just being a head to head of the Democratic Progressive Party vs. KMT, the 2024 Taiwan Presidential Election is heating up to be a much more varied and precarious event.

From the experienced and progressive leaning leadership of Lai Ching-te to the patriotic but seemingly misplaced trust in China of Terry Gou, voters in Taiwan have a large spectrum of political positions and opinions to navigate.

What’s more, with four Taiwan presidential candidates to choose from, it’s clear that this choice will be no easy feat for some. Especially since several of these candidates have similar political stances, with the majority wanting to maintain the current cross-strait status quo. Aside from Terry Gou, of course.