Third time lucky for Taiwan’s Tsai?

President Tsai Ing-wen

When running for the highest office in the land, Taiwanese politicians face a conundrum. Do they seek harmony and conciliation with their giant neighbour across the water, or do they seek to provoke difference and dispute with the leaders of the People’s Republic of China, who claim the island state as their own?

Both approaches offer palpable benefits to a rising political star – up to a point. Taiwan’s voting public want their leaders to be strong with Beijing, but only the foolhardy desire a full-scale war of words, let alone a military altercation.