In 2020, just after democracy protests in Hong Kong, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won a landslide victory, partly because of high turnout among younger voters, according to analysts and voter surveys. Younger voters are again playing a role, but this time they are gravitating to a dark horse candidate who has become the DPP’s closest challenger. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), a 64-year-old former Taipei mayor, has won over many younger voters with plain talk on issues such as high housing costs, rather than focusing on the China threat. Then-Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je waves to his supporters during the launch of his book in Taipei on June 30, 2018. While Ko of the small TPP lags Lai by 17 percentage points, he leads among voters younger than 40, a Taiwanese Public Opinion Foundation survey conducted in the middle of last month found.

Source: Taipei Times September 04, 2023 16:52 UTC