Taiwan opposition's joint bid for presidency in disarray

A potential joint bid for the Taiwan's presidency by the island's two main opposition parties was in disarray on Saturday after the smaller of the two said no consensus had been reached on how to use opinion polls make that decision. The issue of China, which views Taiwan as its territory, looms over the Jan. 13 parliamentary and presidential elections.

A potential joint bid for the Taiwan's presidency by the island's two main opposition parties was in disarray on Saturday after the smaller of the two said no consensus had been reached on how to use opinion polls make that decision.

The issue of China, which views Taiwan as its territory, looms over the Jan. 13 parliamentary and presidential elections. China has stepped up military and political pressure, including high-profile war games, to press the island to accept its sovereignty claim, which Taiwan rejects. After weeks of sometimes acrimonious talks on joining up for the presidential election, the Kuomintang (KMT) and the much smaller Taiwan People's Party (TPP) agreed on Wednesday to look at an aggregate of opinion polls to decide which party's candidate would run as president and which as vice president.

In a brief statement, the TPP said following late night talks on Friday its experts believed there was "considerable controversy" in the statistical method used to look at the opinion polls to make that decision. The two sides are still unable to reach a consensus, it added.

There was no immediate comment from the KMT. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) candidate, Vice President Lai Ching-te, has for months led most opinion polls to be Taiwan's next president, leaving the KMT's Hou Yu-ih, and the TPP's Ko Wen-je to battle it out for second place.

China detests frontrunner Lai, regarding him as a separatist, and has rebuffed repeated calls from him for talks. Hou especially has vowed to renew dialogue with Beijing, and says Lai is a dangerous supporter of Taiwan independence. The DPP says only China stands to gain from the opposition teaming up.