Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

When Taiwanese and Hong Kong tour agencies began offering a four-day package tour focusing on Taiwan’s election culture, spaces sold out quickly. As there were only 30 seats available, and given that elections and democracy in Taiwan are especially relevant to people in Hong Kong at this moment due to pro-democracy protests in the territory, the popularity of the tour is not surprising.

President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) support ratings fell through the floor in last year’s local elections, but they bounced back in just a few months to put her in the lead again. This is unprecedented in Taiwan.

Most people say it was a result of the protests in Hong Kong, which the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has used to accuse the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of creating “a sense of the nation’s impending doom.”