Taiwan faces historic decision in coming election

TAIWAN'S 23 million people may face a historic decision in the coming months as the island prepares for a fateful presidential election in which relations with mainland China will be the crucial issue.

Party leaders of all stripes were jockeying for position last week amid rising cross-strait tensions when the entire political establishment was suddenly shaken up after Foxconn chief Terry Gou, who counts both US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping as his friends, announced that he was running for president.

Like Mr Trump, Mr Gou is a billionaire businessman with no experience in government. Foxconn, best known for making iPhones and other Apple devices, is mainland China's largest private employer with over a million workers in factories across the country.