Taiwan's two main opposition parties came to a historic agreement on Nov. 15 to run a joint campaign in Taiwan's 2024 presidential election, a move that could strengthen their hand against the incumbent government.

This comes after months of negotiations between the two opposition hopefuls, the Kuomintang's (KMT) Hou You-ih and Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), Focus Taiwan reported.

These talks had been mired by the question of which candidate should represent the opposition in the upcoming Jan. 13 elections.

The parties made the decision to run a united campaign in a meeting at the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation in Taipei on Wednesday, with former president Ma Ying-jeou serving as witness.

Presidential candidate chosen based on polling results

The two opposition parties issued a joint statement after the meeting, announcing that they would use polling results to determine whether Hou or Ko would lead the ballot as presidential candidate, and who would serve as running mate, reported Taipei Times. 

Polling experts will analyse the results of public opinion polls conducted from Nov. 7 to Nov. 17,  as well as the results of internal KMT and TPP polls.

The results will be announced on Nov. 18.

Pledged to form coalition government

After the ballot is decided, the two parties will form a joint campaign to assist all candidates from the two parties running in the legislative elections, Taipei Times reported.

The KMT and the TPP also pledged to establish a coalition government if elected.

Apart from ministers of national defence, foreign affairs, and cross-strait affairs, which are chosen by the president, all other ministers in the Cabinet would be selected based on the proportion of legislators from each party.

The TPP will focus on supervision and checks and balances, while the KMT will be responsible for Taiwan's construction and development.

Ma described the agreement as "a new milestone in Taiwan's political history," according to Focus Taiwan.

The country has never had a coalition government before.

The KMT's official Facebook page also deemed the coalition effort one that would "create a new page for democracy in Taiwan".

Opinion polls suggest coalition could beat ruling party candidate

This coalition bid could increase the chances of a more China-friendly government taking power in Taipei, Bloomberg said.

Beijing views Taiwan as part of its territory, and has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.

Taiwan, which has its own elected government, has maintained that it is already independent.

However, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) could be threatened by a united opposition bid.

Its presidential candidate William Lai Ching-te, who is also Taiwan's Vice-President, has been consistently leading opinion polls through the year.

However, opinion polls show that if Hou and Ko teamed up, they could beat Lai and his presumptive running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan's envoy to the United States, Reuters reported.

Based on a recent poll by broadcaster TVBS, Lai had a 33 percent support rating, while Ko came in second with 24 percent, with Hou not far behind with 22 percent.

Foxconn founder Terry Gou, who qualified to run as an independent candidate, had the backing of 8 per cent of respondents.

Potential for a more pro-China government in Taipei

A Taiwanese political science professor interviewed by Bloomberg said that a successful opposition alliance could make it more likely for cross-border tensions to improve.

China cut off direct communication with Taipei after President Tsai Ing-wen of the DPP took office in 2016, as she refused to accept China's territorial claims on Taiwan.

Lai also angered China in 2018 while he was premier, as he told parliament he was a "Taiwan independence worker" and he believed that Taiwan was a sovereign, independent country, according to Reuters.

In contrast, Taiwan's opposition parties KMT and TPP have vowed to pursue dialogue with China on an "equal and dignified basis" and to resolve the cross-border dispute.

Top image from 中國國民黨 KMT on Facebook.