Taiwan’s presidential frontrunner says he’ll name the island’s former envoy to the US as his running mate, a sign he aims to bolster ties with Washington if elected.
Vice President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party said in a Facebook post on Monday that he’ll name Hsiao Bi-khim as his pick later in the day.
Hsiao has stepped down as the island’s representative, the Foreign Ministry in Taipei said in a statement. Lai will hold a briefing at 3 p.m. to announce Hsiao as his choice, the DPP said.
She would become the second woman to serve as vice president of Taiwan if the ticket wins the election on Jan. 13 next year. Annette Lu was Chen Shui-bian’s vice president from 2000-2008.
Hsiao is one of the most prominent figures President Tsai Ing-wen has placed in government roles since taking office in 2016. Her appointment highlights Taipei’s soft-power edge over Beijing and its inclusive democratic system. China doesn’t have a woman on its 24-member Politburo.
Hsiao has been Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the US since July 2020, a period that saw the Washington and Taipei strengthen military and diplomatic links. That’s frustrated China, which claims the island of 23 million people as its territory and has twice held major military drills around it over the past year-plus because Tsai met senior US lawmakers.
See: Women Are Leading Taiwan’s Public Relations War Against China
Lai has topped polls for much of this year. He was backed by 33.1% of respondents in a poll released Wednesday by My Formosa, a private company whose founder is linked to the DPP.
Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang was second at 26.5% and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party was third with 17.3% support.
Foxconn Technology Group’s billionaire founder Terry Gou was picked by 5% of respondents. In September, Gou announced actress Lai Pei-hsia as his running mate.
Lai is best known to Taiwanese audiences as a singer and for playing a presidential candidate in the Chinese-language Netflix political drama Wave Makers, which is credited with triggering the #MeToo movement in Taiwan.
Also: Taiwan’s Opposition in Disarray as Alliance Talks Stumble
--With assistance from Zibang Xiao.
(Updates with more details and context)
