The head of Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party, Eric Chu, named on Wednesday his running mate for the island's election next year.

Wang Ju-hsuan is a former senior official with labor department and women's rights activist. She studied law at Taiwan University and Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan, and received a PhD from the Renmin University of China in the mainland. Chu's rival, Tsai Ing-wen, the head of the Democratic Progressive Party, on Monday announced her running mate, Chen Chien-jen, an epidemiologist.

The regional leader election will be held on January 16, 2016.