Updated

A politician hoping to win a seat in the Taiwanese Parliament next year jumped through a ring of fire in a desperate bid to win votes, The Mirror reports.

A video of the December 9 stunt shows Chen Mao-chia, who represents Taiwan’s ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party in the city’s Xinzhuang District, run towards the blazing ring before throwing himself through head first.

He reportedly performed the stunt three times surrounded by a cheering audience at Xintai Junior High School, which he once attended.

While many predict a landslide victory for the opposition Democratic Progressive Party, Mao-chia hopes the stunt will show voters he will do anything to win the election, The Mirror adds.

The KMT, Taiwan’s current ruling party, and incumbent President Ma Ying-jeou, have become unpopular among the Taiwanese public. Ying-jeou is accused of keeping dangerously close relations with mainland China, as evidenced by a historic meeting between Ying-jeou and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.