China ties on the line as Taiwan’s opposition splits in a dramatic feud.

After a stunning split, Taiwan’s opposition parties filed separate presidential candidates on Friday, making it possibly more accessible for the governing party, which has rejected the push from Beijing to remain in power. The opposition parties’ goal is to have closer connections with China.

China, which considers Taiwan to be part of its territory, has increased the amount of military and political pressure it is applying to the island to coerce it into accepting its claims of sovereignty. The election on January 13 is taking place during this time.

The opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and the much smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), both of which are seeking to develop better connections with China, had agreed to work together against the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Still, little progress was made on preparations for a combined presidential ticket. Both parties are campaigning to forge better ties with China.

China, which has framed the election as a choice between “peace and war,” feels that the DPP and its presidential candidates are dangerous separatists, and it has rejected offers of discussions. China has framed the election as a “peace and war decision.”

After failing to reach an agreement during final-ditch negotiations with the TPP on Thursday evening, the KMT stormed out of the hotel conference room where the talks were being held, filled with reporters, and shown live on television.

Terry Gou, the wealthy founder of key Apple supplier Foxconn (2317. TW), who had been running as an independent candidate, acted as a broker in the negotiations.

One of the most tense and exciting moments it occurred when Hou Yu-ih, the presidential candidate for the KMT, read a private text message sent by Ko Wen-je, the candidate for the TPP, to Gou Yu-ih. In the message, Ko suggested that Gou needed to “find a reason” to withdraw from the presidential race.

Both Hou and Ko announced their running mates on Friday morning. You chose the fiery media personality Jaw Shaw-kong. At the same time, Ko, from the much smaller TPP, selected one of its parliamentarians, Cynthia Wu, whose family is a critical stakeholder in the conglomerate Shin Kong Group. Both candidates are members of the TPP.

After the opposition discussions broke down, it was generally believed that Gou would withdraw from the campaign to be president. Gou said he would do so just three hours before the deadline to register his candidacy with the election commission.

“BRINGING STABILITY TO THE TAIWAN STRAW”

Hou promised to establish “stability in the Taiwan Strait and safety in Taiwan, which will assure the entire world” as he introduced Jaw.

In stark contrast to the anarchy that has permeated the opposition camp, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has worked together to make significant headway in its election campaign. On Tuesday, the DPP registered its candidates for president and vice president.

According to Huang Kwei-bo, a professor of diplomacy at Taipei’s National Chengchi University and a former KMT deputy secretary general, the opposition would aim for “favorable changes” such as internal DPP scandals before election day to capitalize on them.

“There will be a big uphill battle for the two opposition parties,” he told Reuters.

Lai Ching-te, now serving as Taiwan’s vice president, has maintained a commanding lead in the polls.

On Friday, his campaign staff pleaded to the opposition, urging them to “quickly submit detailed policies” to “return the election to normalcy.”

During his speech at an electoral event late on Thursday, Lai ridiculed the fragmentation of the opposition by criticizing his team’s hectic schedule, during which they spoke about policy with voters and the media.

“Should we dare to hand over the business of running the country to these people?” As Lai had said. “Of course this is not OK.”

However, he stated that he would not be resting on his laurels even though the opposition was not working together, and he mentioned the 11 activities he had participated in that day.

“Is this getting elected while lying down?” Lai continued, pointing to statements made by lawmakers on the other side earlier in which they predicted an easy victory for Lai if the opposition failed to unify.

Taiwan’s stock market largely ignored the effects of the ongoing political drama, but industries related to tourism saw a decline due to worries that relations with China would not improve and Chinese tourists would not visit Taiwan again.

On Friday, the tourism and hospitality sub-index (.THOI), which finished at a lower level than the benchmark index (.TWII), which remained unchanged.