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
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2