The Taiwan People’s Party (台灣民眾黨, TPP) was formally established yesterday in Taipei, with the party announcing its constitution and the election of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) as its chairman.
The founding ceremony was held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center, with hundreds of people attending.
Ko arrived shortly past noon and was welcomed by enthusiastic chants of: “Taiwan’s choice — Ko Wen-je,” “The best choice — Ko Wen-je” and “The party members’ choice — Ko Wen-je” — similar to the slogans used during his mayoral re-election campaign last year.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The party has 111 founding members, with 72 attending the morning meeting to decide the party’s constitution and elect a chairman, a cohost of the event said.
The founding members include members of the Ko administration — adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如), Secretary-General Chang Jer-yang (張哲揚), spokesman Liu Yi-ting (劉奕霆) and deputy spokespeople Ke Yu-an (柯昱安) and Huang Ching-ying (黃?瑩) — and Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (台北捷運) chairman Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗).
Ko said that the TPP was founded to change Taiwan’s political culture, as the ideological battle between the two major parties has left the nation in a rut and led to friction over the past two decades.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
He said that his foremost principle is to promote the nation’s “general interests and the public’s maximum well-being.”
The biggest problem that Taiwanese politics has faced since 2000 is the destruction of the civil service system, because policies can be suddenly changed by political forces, without professional and technical discussions, unlike the past when there were technocrats, he said.
“While honesty and diligence should be basic requirements of government, they have become rare in today’s Taiwan,” he said, adding that the government needs to improve governance, regain the public’s trust and highlight the nation’s value to the world with a graft-free government.
Photo: CNA
Ko reiterated that he believes “Taiwanese values” are the implementation of universal values in Taiwan, including democracy, freedom, diversity, openness, rule of law, human rights, caring for the underprivileged and sustainable development.
“The TPP we established today is the coming together of ideas. We are not political leaders, but rather hope to become preachers of culture,” he said.
Public opinion, professional expertise and values are the three most important elements in decisionmaking, he added.
According to the party’s charter, the TPP conforms to the existing constitutional system and aims to strengthen national governance, enhance national interest and abolish corruption.
It will take a practical approach in foreign relations to ensure Taiwan’s survival and protect its sovereignty, it says.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) sent flowers to congratulate the party on its founding.
Gou’s gift came with a card that says: “Remember the reason it all started. It is our shared goal to ensure Taiwan’s stability and prosperity.”
Wang’s gift came with a message calling for solidarity to ensure peace and stability for Taiwan.
Gou’s and Wang’s gifts were the only flower baskets placed at the entrance of the venue.
Yonglin Education Foundation chief executive officer Amanda Liu (劉宥彤), a member of Gou’s campaign team, said she attended the event in her personal capacity to offer the party her best wishes.
The event coincided with Ko’s 60th birthday, and the mayor’s parents attended the event, where supporters shouted “Happy birthday” to Ko.
Outside the venue, several members of pro-independence groups and self-styled “Ko haters” staged a rally and called on Ko to resign as mayor if he runs for next year’s presidential election.
Additional reporting by Ann Maxon
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS