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Taiwanese Go to Polls to Pick President in Elections Guided by Fears About
China

Ralph Jennings

   TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Taiwanese voters headed to the polls Saturday morning
   to pick a president in an election dominated by how the government
   should handle its political rival: China. Some are casting votes for
   the incumbent Tsai Ing-wen, who takes a tough stance toward Beijing. A
   lot are going instead for Han Kuo-yu, rising-star mayor who wants
   closer economic ties with China.

   Voters lined up in thick crowds outside Taiwan's polling stations
   Saturday morning in an early sign of strong turnout in a presidential
   election that will chart the future of the island's relations with
   China.

   The government in Beijing considers Taiwan part of its own territory
   that must eventually unify with China. But Taiwanese said in surveys
   last year they prefer today's democratic self-rule over unification.
   Anti-China protests in Hong Kong over the past months raised fear among
   some Taiwanese voters of what life might be like under rule by Beijing.
   China has ruled Hong Kong for more than 20 years.

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