Hou Yu-ih is firmly back in the race. After the controversy that prevented a joint opposition candidate from being nominated, he can once again run freely as the candidate for the National People’s Party (Kuomintang, KMT) without having to compromise with political rivals. In a recent opinion poll, he is only just behind William Lai of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with 31 percent approval (34 percent). This means that Hou currently has a reasonable chance of winning the presidency in January’s election.