TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The two rivals for the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential nomination, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and ex-Premier William Lai (賴清德), will likely present their views on television on Saturday June 8.

A DPP Central Executive Committee meeting last Wednesday (May 29) decided that opinion polls deciding on the nomination should take place from June 10 through 14.

According to the Central News Agency, there is a strong possibility that there will be only one televised platform, to be broadcast on June 8, though a final agreement still has to be reached.

Each candidate will first have some time to present policies, then each of them will face three questions each, possibly from an academic. At the end of the session, they will have the opportunity to present their conclusions, but there will be no direct debate and no cross-questioning.

The whole event is expected to last about 90 minutes, CNA reported Thursday (May 30).

During the 10 days until the broadcast, each candidate’s camp said they would do their utmost to gain further public support.

For the president, that meant her doing her work as well as possible, which would automatically increase favorable opinions, Tsai representatives said.

A spokesman for ex-Premier Lai said he had several media interviews lined up during which he would expound on his ideas for the country. He would also continue to travel across Taiwan for effective visits and tours.

At the insistence of the Tsai camp, the DPP decided to devote half the June 10-14 opinion polls to cellphone users, and to compare the two DPP rivals to the Kuomintang mayor of Kaohsiung, Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), who looks like the strongest performer on the “blue” side of Taiwan politics, and to independent Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who has not announced his candidacy yet.

