Once a dominant political pressure, Taiwan’s foremost opposition social gathering misplaced the final two presidential elections largely as a result of it has promoted nearer ties with China. Now, confronted with voters who’ve been alarmed by Beijing’s aggression towards the island, the Kuomintang is putting its hopes on a brand new kind of candidate: a well-liked native chief with a clean slate on the thorny query of China.

The Kuomintang, or Nationalist Party, on Wednesday nominated as its presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih, a 66-year-old, two-term mayor of New Taipei City and former police chief who has tried to strike a center floor inside the Kuomintang on the island’s relations with China. Mr. Hou launched his bid with a rallying name.

“We must unite for victory, especially at this stage when our country is facing fierce and dangerous international circumstances,” Mr. Hou mentioned following the announcement of his nomination.

His candidacy units the stage for a tight race subsequent January that might chart a brand new course for Taiwan within the big-power standoff between China and the United States and reshape tensions across the Taiwan Strait, one of many world’s most harmful flash factors. Under the seven-year management of President Tsai Ing-wen of the governing Democratic Progressive Party, Taiwan has come beneath intensifying navy and diplomatic stress from China and pushed again by bolstering ties with the United States.

Within the Kuomintang, Mr. Hou is thought to be a succesful administrator with broad enchantment, who “would generate the least internal party controversy, align with the general expectations of society and have the highest likelihood of winning in the presidential election,” mentioned Huang Kwei-Bo, a professor of worldwide relations on the National Chengchi University and a former deputy secretary-general of the Nationalist Party.

Mr. Hou’s nomination pits him towards Lai Ching-te, the governing social gathering candidate and present vice chairman. A win for Mr. Lai would doubtless imply a continuation of China’s insurance policies to freeze out Taiwan from any high-level engagement, in addition to Taiwan’s continued closeness with the United States. A victory for Mr. Hou and the Kuomintang might reopen communication channels with China and tamp down navy tensions, doubtlessly decreasing the stress on Taiwan to strengthen ties with Washington.

Mr. Hou confronted powerful competitors from Terry Gou, the founding father of the iPhone and electronics producer Foxconn, who failed regardless of holding rallies across the island to make his case for nomination. Analysts mentioned Mr. Gou’s lack of expertise in politics and his enterprise pursuits in China made him an unviable candidate for the Kuomintang.

The Kuomintang in recent times has struggled to balance its China-friendly leanings with the Taiwan inhabitants’s souring sentiment towards Beijing. That juggling act has been difficult by Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong in 2019 and its ramped-up navy drills round Taiwan. The governing D.P.P. has positioned itself as a defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty and democracy, and pointed to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for instance of the pressing risk of authoritarian expansionism.

But the Kuomintang scored huge final 12 months, prevailing in virtually two-thirds of native mayoral elections contested, races through which geopolitics matter lower than bread-and-butter points. Mr. Hou handily gained his re-election as mayor and has since topped a number of polls inside the social gathering for the candidacy.

Unlike most politicians in Taiwan, Mr. Hou started his profession as a police officer, within the Eighties. He rose via the ranks and was a key investigator into the 2004 assassination attempt towards President Chen Shui-bian. In 2006, Mr. Chen’s administration promoted Mr. Hou to the place of chief of the island’s police pressure, the youngest officer ever to serve within the position.

In his flip to politics in 2010, he joined arms with Eric Chu, who was then the mayor of New Taipei City. Mr. Hou served because the deputy mayor beneath Mr. Chu and succeeded Mr. Chu as mayor in 2018. Mr. Chu is now the chairman of the Kuomintang.

Supporters of Mr. Hou in New Taipei City say that he takes actual actions to enhance the lives of residents. Jax Chen, a 28-year-old nonprofit employee, referred to Mr. Hou’s effort to remodel a large, decades-old rubbish dump into inexperienced park house as one instance.

“In Taiwan’s political scene, it seems like everyone is just talking too much,” he mentioned. “But if there is a person who is pragmatic with capabilities to enforce policies, I believe it would be great and everyone would be willing to accept the person.”

Less properly established are Mr. Hou’s views on main geopolitical questions comparable to how Taiwan ought to navigate its relationships with China and the United States. China claims Taiwan as its territory, to be absorbed with pressure if crucial, and accuses the D.P.P. of searching for formal independence. The Kuomintang has asserted that it’s the social gathering with one of the best probability of partaking China and avoiding warfare.

In an obvious effort to string the needle, Mr. Hou has mentioned he each opposes Taiwan independence and the “one country, two systems” formulation proposed by China to soak up Taiwan. The place eschews two extremes however leaves open an enormous variety of doable viewpoints on the existential problem of cross-strait relations.

The lack of readability about his stance on China has already been criticized by some observers, a possible drawback for him on prime of his lack of expertise in international affairs, mentioned Paul Chao-hsiang Chu, a politics professor at National Taiwan Normal University who research social gathering politics and voters’ habits.

At the identical time, Mr. Hou’s reticence might make him extra interesting to centrist voters, mentioned Liao Da-chi, an emeritus professor of political science on the National Sun Yat-Sen University. That is in distinction to Han Kuo-yu, the Kuomintang’s presidential candidate in 2020, who made rousing speeches and pledged to revive nearer relations with China however lost in a landslide to President Tsai.

Overall, Mr. Hou has had only a few interactions with the United States, mentioned Bonnie Glaser, a Taiwan skilled and managing director of the Indo-Pacific program on the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Mr. Hou has mentioned that he has met with officers on the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto embassy for the United States, at the very least eight instances. But American congressional delegations to Taiwan since its reopening haven’t been capable of meet with him.

As Beijing stokes tensions within the Taiwan Strait, the Kuomintang’s contact with China has typically put it in an ungainly place.

Earlier this 12 months, simply as President Tsai traveled to the United States, Ma Ying-jeou, a former president of Taiwan and an influential chief within the Kuomintang, headed for China on an unofficial journey. Mr. Ma was criticized in Taiwan for showing to kowtow to China on an inappropriately timed go to. (In retaliation for Ms. Tsai’s go to to the United States, China despatched record numbers of military aircraft, in addition to naval ships and an plane provider, close to Taiwan to conduct navy drills.)

“To win the election, it is imperative for the Kuomintang to persuade the people that voting for them is the safer and more promising choice in achieving peace,” Dr. Chu mentioned. “At the same time, how it would convince the Taiwanese people they will not betray Taiwan or allow China to completely swallow up Taiwan’s sovereignty presents a significant challenge for Kuomintang.”