Taiwan's upcoming elections will be a "heart-pounding, soul-stirring battle" for the island's future, Beijing-friendly candidate Han Kuo-yu said Sunday in his first speech since becoming the opposition party's presidential hopeful.

Han described January's vote as a choice between "peace or crisis" with China in a speech to a packed stadium at the Kuomintang (KMT) party's national congress.

Taiwan has been a de facto sovereign nation since the end of a civil war in 1949, but China still views the island as its territory and has vowed to seize it -- by force if necessary.

Han is looking to unseat President Tsai Ing-wen of the Beijing-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in a contest that will be dominated by relations with China.

"This won't be a polite gentleman's race, it will be a heart-pounding, soul-stirring battle for the survival of the Republic of China (ROC) and Taiwan's next generations," he told the crowd, using Taiwan's formal name.

"The people will make a most sacred and solemn choice for the fate of our country in the next four years. We will choose whether to defend the ROC or destroy the ROC... we will choose cross-strait peace or Taiwan Strait crisis."

Relations with Beijing have plummeted since Tsai came to power in 2016 because her party refuses to recognise the idea that Taiwan is part of "one China".

As punishment, Beijing has cut official communications, ramped up military exercises, poached diplomatic allies and ratcheted up economic pressure on the island.

On Sunday Han presented himself as someone who can reverse Beijing's ire as he rounded on the Tsai administration's domestic and foreign policies and vowed to create "an economic miracle".

- 'Han tide' -

The 62-year-old has enjoyed a stunning rise in the last two years, journeying from relative obscurity to become his party's presidential candidate in a phenomenon that has been dubbed the "Han tide".

Some have likened him to US President Donald Trump and other populist leaders who hail from outside establishment circles and command a fervent voter base buoyed by lofty promises of resurrecting their fortunes.

Han has been able to muster huge, enthusiastic crowds during campaigning, where he has vowed to restore warm ties with Beijing and kickstart the economy.

He was a relative unknown until he seized the Kaohsiung mayoralty in local elections last year, a shock win in the southern city that has long been a DPP heartland.

To become the KMT's candidate, he saw off a challenge from Taiwan's richest man, billionaire Foxconn founder Terry Gou.

But speculation is rife that Gou could run independently -- a move that would likely split the KMT vote, or team up with independent Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je for a joint campaign.

Shih Cheng-feng, a political analyst at National Dong Hwa University, said Gou would appeal to more "middle of the road and younger" voters compared to Han.

"Gou could be an Achilles heel for him," he told AFP

Detractors are unnerved by Han's efforts promoting warmer China ties and say his populist policies are often unclear.

Tsai, also 62, has described the 2020 presidential election as a "fight for freedom and democracy", setting herself up as someone who can defend Taiwan from an increasingly assertive Beijing.

Her campaign office on Sunday rejected Han's criticism, saying his track record in Kaohsiung should raise alarm bells.

It also pointed to ongoing political chaos in Hong Kong as an example of why voters should remain distrustful of Beijing.

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