The three men vying to be Taiwan's next president

On 13 January, Taiwan will elect a new president in a critical race that could redefine the island's relationship with China.

Beijing has long claimed self-governed Taiwan as a breakaway province and has loomed over the island's elections since the first one in 1996.

This year's race to replace sitting President Tsai Ing-wen is happening at a time when Taiwan has emerged as a key flashpoint between the US and China. Geopolitics aside, low wages and soaring home prices are among the domestic challenges weighing on voters.

The current vice-president is on the ballot and leading polls by a small margin, followed by a former police chief. An ex-city mayor, who had initially upset calculations in the winner-takes-all race, appears now to be trailing well behind. The legislative elections, where each voter will cast one ballot for their district and another for at-large seats, will run on the same day.

Here's more on the three presidential hopefuls and their running mates.

He may be soft spoken, but Taiwan's 63-year-old vice-president is a staunch defender of the island's self-governing status - with China's state-run Global Times even calling for him to be prosecuted under Beijing's anti-secession laws.

During his tenure as Tsai Ing-wen's premier from 2017 to 2019, Mr Lai described himself as a "pragmatic worker for Taiwanese independence".

Mr Lai's father died in an accident when he was two. Watching his mother raise six children by herself fostered a strong work ethic in Mr Lai, he says. He was medically trained in Harvard and worked as a renal doctor before he entered public service in Taiwan in the mid-1990s.

He first served as a lawmaker representing the southern city of Tainan. He was elected the city's mayor in 2010