Candidates Rally Their Base as Time To Build Support Runs Out
With election day nearing, Taiwan's presidential hopefuls appeal to their respective bases to make sure they turn out.
Transcript
00:00 "Thank you for your hard work."
00:02 Supporters bundled up against the cold
00:04 come out to hear presidential candidate Lai Ching-de speak.
00:07 Though much of Taiwan's been shivering,
00:09 the country's election campaign is hotter than ever.
00:12 The atmosphere here in the southern city of Tainan is warm too.
00:16 Lai used to be Tainan's mayor,
00:18 and the city's been a reliable base for his Democratic Progressive Party.
00:22 But all this only matters if people go to the polls.
00:26 That's why Lai's here on this chilly day,
00:28 to rally the base, this time with a promise on education.
00:32 He wants to make high school and vocational school free starting next year.
00:36 And there's more.
00:38 With just 26 days until the election, no one can afford to waste time.
00:54 And Lai's not the only one trying to whip up the base.
00:57 At this event in Taichung,
00:59 Kuomintang candidate Ho You-wee is focused on the most divisive issue
01:02 in Taiwanese politics, China.
01:05 China claims Taiwan and continues to threaten an invasion.
01:09 Ho's Kuomintang wants friendlier ties and greater exchanges,
01:12 including in trade.
01:14 But that's not something everyone can get behind.
01:17 In 2014, students worried about Taiwan's sovereignty
01:20 occupied the legislature to block one pact the party wanted to push through.
01:24 The pact was put on ice.
01:26 But Ho says nearly a decade on, it's time to bring it back.
01:30 And the Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wenjie
01:51 has repeated the mantra that's driven his campaign,
01:54 the most significant third-party challenge in decades.
01:57 He sees Taiwan's highly polarized bipartisan system
02:00 as a problem that only he can do away with.
02:03 It's a message that's won him his own base among the politically disillusioned.
02:07 Taiwan must have a government that cares for the people and the country.
02:14 Not a government that creates divisions and hatred.
02:19 And then shouts slogans and shouts slogans.
02:22 But it doesn't have a government that actually solves Taiwan's problems.
02:26 Two ways or three, though, Taiwan's electoral landscape is deeply split.
02:30 The lines are drawn.
02:32 And now, with just weeks left,
02:34 candidates' focus is on building enough momentum in the base
02:37 to push them across the finish line.
02:39 Ryan Wu and John Ventreest for Taiwan Plus.
02:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]