New Power Party (NPP) legislative candidate Hu Po-yen (胡博硯) yesterday announced his withdrawal from the party, following controversy over the party’s relationship with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Hu stirred controversy when he said in an interview on Tuesday that the party might withdraw its support for DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) presidential bid if the DPP fails to display sincerity in collaborating with minor parties.
The NPP quickly distanced itself from Hu’s remarks in a statement on Wednesday, saying that his comments were “not representative of the NPP’s stance.”
“Although we are unclear about the context and intent of Hu Po-yen’s remarks and whether there has been any misunderstanding, what the media have reported cannot be further from the party’s longstanding stance,” the NPP said in a statement.
“We have never seen the issue of negotiating constituencies as a question of ‘yielding’ or not, nor have we ever used our support for any particular presidential candidate as a bargaining chip for legislative constituencies,” the NPP said.
Hu announced his decision to leave the NPP in a Facebook post yesterday morning.
“If [my actions] have caused any misunderstanding about the NPP or affected the development of a ‘third force,’ in general, it would not be a problem pertaining to my personal honor or shame, but rather to the greater problem of right and wrong for Taiwan’s future,” Hu said.
Hu stressed that he was leaving the NPP to “avoid inflicting further harm on my comrades,” and gave the party his best wishes.
Earlier this month, Hu temporarily announced his decision to withdraw from the legislative race in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和), only to delete the post from his Facebook page 30 minutes later.
According to media reports, local DPP members pressured the NPP to nominate Academia Sinica researcher Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) instead of Hu, who is seen as a weaker candidate.
NPP founder Freddy Lim (林昶佐), the lead singer of metal band Chthonic, yesterday said that he respected Hu’s departure, adding that he did not know much about Hu’s intentions aside from what he has learned through media reports.
Lim said that he has faith in Hu’s determination to fight for the rights of underprivileged groups and looked forward to cooperating with Hu again in future campaigns.
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