Taiwan faces a three-way presidential contest in the new year

TPP’s presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and his vice presidential candidate Wu Hsin-ying wave at the journalists before registering their candidacy for the presidential election in Taipei, Taiwan. Photograph: Annabelle Chih/Getty Images Taiwan faces a three-way presidential contest next January after the self-governing island's two main opposition parties failed to back a joint candidate. Each party registered its own candidate on Friday, boosting the prospects of the frontrunner, vice-president Lai Ching-te from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The development is a blow to Beijing because both opposition parties favour closer ties with mainland China, which views Mr Lai and outgoing…