TAIPEI (BLOOMBERG) - Taiwan's election will be an opportunity for voters to choose cross-strait peace or crisis, said Kaohsiung City Mayor Han Kuo-yu, who was nominated as the presidential nominee by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party at the national congress on Sunday (July 28).

Mr Han, whose campaign slogan is "Taiwan safe, people rich", was selected to challenge incumbent Tsai Ing-wen in the presidential poll in January. Representatives agreed to the nomination unanimously, said KMT chairman Wu Den-yih.

Mr Han, who favours closer exchanges with China, beat off challenges from Foxconn Technology Group founder and billionaire Terry Gou, and three other candidates in the party's presidential primary earlier this month. The result was cleared by the party's central standing committee.

Ms Tsai, meanwhile, expressed concern in an NHK interview about China's latest defence report. The white paper released last Wednesday demonstrates Beijing's continued military build-up, and Taiwan needs to respond by bolstering its defence capabilities, she said, according to NHK.

Ms Tsai said she was concerned about the crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong, adding that she hopes today's Taiwan will be tomorrow's Hong Kong - stressing the importance of the guarantees of democracy and freedom of expression, the NHK reported.