This Saturday is election day in Taiwan, a race that occurs every four years in the country. There are three presidential candidates and many critical issues.
Candidates are limited to two terms in office, and time is up for President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party.
Her vice-president Lai Ching-te is leading in the polls.
The right-of-center Kuomintang party, or KMT, favors closer relations with Beijing, and its presidential candidate is Hou Yu-ih, a former policeman who has been the mayor of New Taipei for the past five years.
This year there's a third party — the Taiwan Peopleʻs Party — headed by candidate Ko Wen-je, the former mayor of Taipei.
A few months ago, the two opposition parties planned to combine forces to run against the DPP candidate, but they couldnʻt agree on who would be on top of the ticket.
Relations with Beijing are the main issue, but the economy is another. Growth is expected to pick up this year, but surveys show broad dissatisfaction with the cost of living.
No matter who wins, energy will be a challenge for the new administration.
The British energy think tank Ember reported that Taiwan imports roughly 98% of its energy sources and is one of the most dependent economies on fossil fuels in the Asia Pacific.
