The News Lens
Date: 2019/12/09
By: Milo Hsieh
Taiwan’s 2020 election campaigns are in full swing. Although the presidential race has grabbed much media attention, intra-coalition and intra-party intrigues are characterizing the legislative race.
Numerous political parties in both the pan-Green and pan-Blue coalition have emerged to compete in the 2020 elections. The pan-Green coalition is defined more than just by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which currently holds the presidency and a legislative majority. It is made of parties and people who have traditionally favored Taiwanese nationalism and making movements toward the formal establishment of the Taiwanese state. This has pitted them against the pan-Blue coalition, composed mainly of parties and people advocating closer ties with China. The pan-blue coalition is led by the Kuomintang (KMT).
The DPP, the largest party in the pan-green coalition, has been working to both integrate smaller candidates and cooperate with allies in local races. This year’s election, however, is marked by subtle changes in the power dynamic of the coalition. Since Taiwan has a two-vote system for the legislative election — one for local candidates and another for the party list — the DPP is competing with many of the pan-green parties it is cooperating with over the party ticket.
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