Taiwan's Tsai to seek re-election after defeating party challenger

Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen is set to seek a second term after she successfully saw off a primary challenge on Thursday from within her own party to stand as their candidate.

The island goes to the polls in January to elect a new president, in a contest set to be dominated by relations with China.

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) -- which Beijing loathes -- announced that Tsai had comfortably beaten former premier William Lai in a primary decided by opinion polls.

"My most important responsibility now is to unite all forces... to protect Taiwan's democracy, to defend the fruits of reforms and to solidify our national sovereignty," Tsai told reporters.

Tsai was elected in 2016 as the island's first female leader, defeating the China-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party which oversaw an unprecedented thaw in cross-strait ties but began to unnerve many voters with its perceived cosiness to the mainland.

Beijing promptly cut communication with her government, ramped up military ...