Populist politics started in 2014 Taipei mayor election by the non-party affiliated Ko Wen-je. Han Kuo-yu in his Kaohsiung mayor election in 2018 further amplified and dramatized such populist swing within KMT. Such populist political culture even penetrated into the wider society in creating an aggressive and hostile collective political mood against political establishment and liberal tolerance.
The Chinese ban on individual travel to Taiwan will see its largest impact felt not within Taiwan, but within the minds of the people of China.
Mr. Chou says the KMT’s China approach works, because “China hasn’t cracked down on Hong Kong yet.” Is this true? Or just a sick joke? We’ll find out soon.
The Kuomintang announced on July 15 that Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu will represent it in the 2020 presidential election. It continued Han’s meteoric rise, which has been helped by an extremely loyal core of supporters. So who are these loyal Han fans?
Like most of the past presidential elections, experts think cross-strait issues remain the dominant factor set to impact the election result. Since the DPP continues to campaign under the promise of defending Taiwan’s sovereignty, the 2020 presidential race may be a battle between the anti-unification camp and forces favoring unification with China.