Taiwan economy an electoral weak spot for Tsai Ing-wen despite strong record

TAIPEI - Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen looks set to secure a second term in elections this weekend, but her Achilles heel is an economy that China has squeezed relentlessly in an effort to assert its control over the island's future.

With China-US relations deteriorating, observers are closely watching for the result and how Beijing might react. Mr Han's campaign has stumbled, with many Taiwanese voters rattled by China's hardline response to pro-democracy protests in neighbouring Hong Kong and the mass internments of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

"Taiwanese people have been living very difficult lives in the past three and a half years," he added. " Tsai's policy is anti-China. We can't sell our products to China and there are fewer mainland tourists to Taiwan," he told AFP."Business is scarce without mainland tourists," complained Mr Mai Da-wei, a 68-year-old driver and tour guide in Taipei who said he could not afford to retire.

"I also think that many in Taiwan compare their economic growth rate unfavourably to mainland China, rather than to other advanced economies, which is a better comparison," she added.

Taiwan economy is not weak. They have what it takes to be on the top. They have a bunch of resources in technical aspects . Must not be underestimated.

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