Taiwan political parties to rally on eve of pivotal election

INA-Source
Tens of thousands of supporters of Taiwan's three political parties will rally Friday as candidates make 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 it as part of its territory.
 
Saturday's poll is being closely watched around the world as the winner will lead the strategically vital 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".
 
Beijing in recent years has maintained a near-daily military presence around Taiwan, sending in warplanes and ships to its surroundings in so-called "grey zone" harassment which falls short of outright provocation.
 
The weeks leading up to Saturday's vote have also seen a flurry of Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait's sensitive median line, which Taipei authorities have slammed as a form of interference in the crucial poll.
 
On Friday, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence announced a record-high of five balloons around Taiwan the day before, with one moving directly over the island's southern tip.
Source- france24