The three men vying to be Taiwan’s next president

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. BBC

China is ramping up the pressure for Taiwan’s election

President Tsai, who has been candid yet deft in her defence of Taiwan’s sovereignty, is deeply disliked by Beijing. But the man running to replace her, current vice-president William Lai, is far worse in their eyes. Despite saying he will do nothing to change the status quo, Mr Lai is seen by China as a hardline “splittist”, an advocate of formal Taiwan independence. BBC

China tries activist Li Qiaochu for ‘inciting subversion of state power’

Ms Li was charged for “inciting subversion” because she “is Xu Zhiyong’s partner and deeply influenced by his subversive thoughts”, according to a statement on Amnesty International which cited the wording of her indictment. She was also deemed to have “spread subversive thoughts” by helping Mr Xu publish his “subversive articles” online, BBC

Diners sprint from cafe as deadly China earthquake hits

China’s deadliest earthquake in 13 years struck Jishishan county at 23:59 local time (1559 GMT) on Monday. Surveillance footage from a restaurant in Linxia City – around 50km (30 miles) from the epicentre of the Gansu earthquake – shows the moment of impact. Customers and staff appear to notice the initial tremor, pausing for a moment before scrambling for the exit all at once. At least 127 people have been killed and more than 700 reported injured. Video by Gem O’Reilly and Simran Sohal. More on this story here. BBC