Tours of Taiwanese elections for English-speakers

Taiwan: Chinese tourists flock to see elections and Curious Chinese 'election tourists' flock to Taiwan mention that tourists from mainland China are visiting Taiwan for the elections there. I thought I heard somewhere that Chinese visitors have guided tours, but can't spot it in the two references.

Are there resources or guided tours available for English speakers? What should I google for?

Best Answer

I recently returned from Taiwan, and was there for the election period. I visited many areas of the country, from very small towns to Taipei. The small- to medium-size towns were the most interesting in terms of the elections, because even if you're accustomed to democracy and voting, you have probably never seen it done this way.

Small storefronts or buildings are taken up by campaigns, banners are everywhere (always with a large photograph of the candidate with his/her hands in an inspiring position--or offensive, depending on your culture!). But more "foreign" are incessant speeches being piped from small trucks driving around every corner of the country (including an unpaved road with no other traffic and only one house that I saw).

And then there are the fireworks. Several nights in a row I saw lengthy parades of vehicles in various towns, with fireworks like roman candles being lit off from truck beds, candidates waving from jeeps, and more.

You don't need a tour to see any of this, you just need to be in Taiwan at the right time (the peak of activities seems to last less than a week). Public transport is excellent, and train stations are often near the town center, and that's where the action is.