This episode is about the background of Taiwan Presidential Candidates in 2024 for the upcoming election.
Talking Taiwan is taking the show on the road back to Taiwan on the Talking Taiwan Election Tour and we traveled down to Taichung on January 7th to meet up in person with political commentator Courtney Donovan Smith, to do some pre-election coverage. We talked about the backgrounds of the three presidential candidates Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) nominee, Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the Kuomintang (KMT) nomineeand their running mates, the opposition unity ticket between the Kuomintang and Taiwan People’s Party that fell apart.
At one time it looked like Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election could have been a four-way race but Terry Gou, the founder of Foxconn who withdrew from the presidential race. To learn more about the candidates and their policies be sure to check out episode 270 with Courtney about the presidential debate. After the election results are in, we will bring Courtney back to share his post-election results analysis with us.
Here’s a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:
- The background of TPP presidential candidate Ko Wen-je
- How Taiwan has a lot of politicians with medical backgrounds
- The background of DPP presidential candidate Lai-Ching-te
- The DPP campaign video” On the way” featuring Tsai Ing-wen, Lai Ching-te and Bi-khim Hsiao
- The background of KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi
- Hou You-yi’s background as a police officer
- The background of Jaw Shau-kong the KMT vice presidential candidate
- The background of Bi-Khim Hsiao the DPP vice presidential candidate
- The background of Cynthia Wu the TPP vice presidential candidate
- Some of the controversies and allegations involving the presidential candidates
- What happened to Terry Gou founder of Foxconn who withdrew from Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election
Related Links:
Ko Wen-je: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Wen-je
Chen Shui-bian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Shui-bian
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Progressive_Party
DPP mayoral candidate Taipei Ding Shouzhong? 2018 recount
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan_People%27s_Party
As Taiwan’s Election Looms, KMT-TPP Unity Talks Stumble: https://thediplomat.com/2023/11/as-taiwans-election-looms-kmt-tpp-unity-talks-stumble/
People First Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_First_Party_(Taiwan)
James Soong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Soong
Lien Chan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lien_Chan
Terry Guo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Gou
Hou You-yi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hou_Yu-ih
Kuomintang (KMT): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang
Ma Ying-jeou: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Ying-jeou
Eric Chu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Chu
William Lai (Lai Ching-te): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lai_Ching-te
Control Yuan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Yuan
Tsai Ing-wen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsai_Ing-wen
New Tide Faction of the DPP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tide_faction
On the way — Ching-te Lai ,Bi-khim Hsiao|2024 Taiwan Presidential Election Commercial Film: https://youtu.be/H4kGNldUQGw?si=0yonRg_pr0gED-Sx
Cheng Nan-jung (鄭南榕aka Nylon Deng): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheng_Nan-jung
Murder of Pai Hsiao-yen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Pai_Hsiao-yen
Frank Hsieh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hsieh
Taiwan president shot in election attack: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/mar/20/china.jonathanwatts
Han Kuo-yu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Han_Kuo-yu
Cross strait services trade pact: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-Strait_Service_Trade_Agreement
Sunflower Movement: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunflower_Student_Movement
United Front: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_front_(China)
Jaw Shau-kong: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaw_Shaw-kong
New Party: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Party_(Taiwan)
Broadcasting Corporation of China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcasting_Corporation_of_China
Bi-khim Hsiao: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsiao_Bi-khim
Cynthia Wu: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynthia_Wu
Shing Kong Group: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Kong_Group
TPP’s Tsai Pi-ru resigns despite denying plagiarism: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/10/15/2003787077
Li Keqiang: Ex-Chinese premier sidelined by Xi dies at 68: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67235777
Notes from Central Taiwan: William Lai: Uppity Taiwanese?: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2024/01/01/2003811436
The Rise and Rapid Fall of Han Kuo-yu (an article from The Diplomat): https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/the-rise-and-rapid-fall-of-han-kuo-yu/
Han Kuo-yu Recall: More Than Just About China
https://globaltaiwan.org/2020/06/han-kuo-yu-recall-more-than-just-about-china/
Reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero: Jiho Chang Tells the Inside Story Ep 174
Reliving the Sunflower Movement from Ground Zero: Jiho Chang Tells the Inside Story (Episode 174): https://talkingtaiwan.com/reliving-the-sunflower-movement-from-ground-zero-jiho-chang-tells-the-inside-story-ep-174/
Eric Chang: On the Unfolding Situation at the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower Movement Ep 231
Eric Chang: On the Unfolding Situation at the Legislative Yuan during the Sunflower Movement (Episode 231): https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chang-on-the-unfolding-situation-at-the-legislative-yuan-during-the-sunflower-movement-ep-231/
Dr. Wei-Ping Li: How Taiwan’s Media Environment Changed from Martial Law Era to Present Ep 267
Dr. Wei-Ping Li: How Taiwan’s Media Environment Changed from Martial Law Era to Present (Episode 267): https://talkingtaiwan.com/dr-wei-ping-li-how-taiwans-media-environment-changed-from-martial-law-era-to-present/
Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party Ep 264
Hsin-Tai Wu: From Cardiovascular Surgeon to Joining the Taiwan State Building Party (Episode 264): https://talkingtaiwan.com/hsin-tai-wu-from-cardiovascular-surgeon-to-joining-the-taiwan-state-building-party-ep-264/
Taiwan FactCheck Center: Discussing the Disinformation Related to Taiwan’s 2024 Presidential Election (Episode 268):