TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Kuomintang presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) voiced dissatisfaction over his pro-China label and claimed that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was responsible for his bad reputation.

Han told the WSJ that his opposition, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), had attempted to undermine his public image by accusing him of being a pawn of Beijing. Additionally, he added that the DPP had created fake opinion polls to confuse Taiwanese voters.

The article, which was published on Thursday (Dec. 5), also pointed out Han's unorthodox strategy of encouraging his supporters to support Tsai in opinion surveys. Han confessed that the Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protests had had a negative impact on his campaign but insisted that he had utter faith in his ability to win the January election.

Han also asserted that improved cross-strait relations were necessary for Taiwan's economic prosperity and that the Chinese government's influence on January's presidential election was exaggerated by pro-DPP media. He added that democracy and freedom have become part of Taiwanese life and that the East Asian country has systems in place to prevent political incursions by other countries, reported CNA.