Ma, of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), also promised that at least one-third of the appointed officials in his government would be women in an eye-catching advert published in major newspapers showing him with a fake pregnant belly.

'We will eradicate any concepts or conducts which are in conflict with gender equality to protect the wellbeing of Taiwanese women,' said the ad, run ahead of International Women's Day on March 8.

Ma also promised to ease employment restrictions affecting nearly 400,000 Chinese and foreign women married to local men.

Under current regulations, Chinese wives are not allowed to work during their first two years on the island and they can only look for jobs in the following four years if they face financial difficulties.

Taiwanese authorities, meanwhile, are also mulling easing the rules by allowing the women who have lived here for more than two years with children aged under 18 to work.

Ma, who favours closer trade ties with China, has pledged to seek talks with Beijing on reopening direct air links soon after taking office, and to allow more Chinese tourists to visit the island.

The former Taipei mayor is leading Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) by about 20 points in opinion polls ahead of the vote on March 22.

The KMT drubbed the DPP in January legislative elections, taking 81 seats in the 113-seat parliament against the DPP's 27.

Beijing and Taipei have been bitter rivals since their split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

Taiwan has since banned direct trade and transport exchanges but eased cross-strait travel restrictions in 1987 and began liberalising mainland-bound investments in the early 1990s. -- AFP