People rally in Taiwan's Kaohsiung city ahead of Presidential vote

Tens of thousands of people in Taiwan's Kaohsiung City on Saturday took to streets to protest ahead of the upcoming presidential election in the nation, wherein the city Mayor Han Kuo-yu represented the opposition.

The presidential vote in Taiwan is set to take place on January 11. The leading candidate is the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, who won primaries beating former Premier William Lai. Han is the candidate from the opposition Kuomintang party, Sputnik news agency reported.

South China Morning Post reported that protesters were divided between two groups, with some of them expressing support for Han, while others opposing his nomination.

Han's opponents claimed that after becoming a presidential candidate, he has abandoned his duties as a Mayor and focusses only on the election campaign.

However, another mass demonstration was also organised in support of the Mayor at 1.11 pm (local time).

The two rallies come at a time when Han, from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party, has fallen behind in the polls against Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Taiwan has been governed independently from China since 1949.

Beijing views the South Asian country as its province, a part of "One China" policy, while Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous country and has political and economic relations with several other nations that recognise its sovereignty.