Taiwan parties mass for rallies on eve of pivotal vote

Tens of thousands of supporters flocked to noisy, colourful rallies for Taiwan’s three main political parties, as the candidates made a last push for votes in an election that China has warned could take the island closer to war.

Tens of thousands of supporters flocked to noisy, colourful rallies for Taiwan's three main political parties, as the candidates made a last push for votes in an election that China has warned could take the island closer to war.

Taiwan's bustling democracy of 23 million people is separated by a narrow 180-kilometre (110-mile) strait from communist-ruled China, which claims the island as part of its territory.

The election is being closely watched around the world as the winner will lead the strategically important island - a major producer of vital semiconductors - as it manages ties with an increasingly assertive China.

Vice President Lai Ching-te, the front-runner candidate of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), paints the election as a choice between "democracy and autocracy" - criticising his main opponent Hou Yu-ih of the Kuomintang (KMT) for being too "pro-China".

Waving flags and carrying posters, their supporters converged in two stadiums located right next to each other in New Taipei City.

"We want peace, not war," blared the KMT supporters' signs, while DPP loyalists carried the party's signature green flags saying: "Choose the right people, walk the right path".

In Taipei, supporters of third-party candidate Ko Wen-je gathered outside the Presidential Office on the sprawling Ketagalan Boulevard, shouting that "Taiwan's choice is Ko Wen-je".