Sunflower movement leader Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) yesterday announced he is to withdraw from the New Power Party (NPP), in a surprise move after the “third force” party won its first legislative seats in Saturday’s elections.
“Although there will probably not be anyone who cares: While I am currently an NPP member, I will apply to withdraw from the party tomorrow [yesterday],” Chen said on Facebook early on Sunday.
He said he wished the party’s elected legislators all the best.
Chen headed the campaign of NPP Hsinchu City candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), who lost to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in a three-way race after refusing to withdraw, despite pressure from the DPP.
The party’s three other district candidates were endorsed by the DPP.
Chen could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Chiu yesterday said that Chen had discussed leaving the party with him, citing Chen as saying he would have to serve his mandatory military service and he has long-term plans to study abroad.
Chen was expelled from a master’s degree in sociology program at National Tsing Hua University for failing to meet attendance requirements due to his campaign commitments.
Chiu denied that disappointment over losing the race was connected with Chen’s decision, adding that rumors his campaign had been “abandoned” by the NPP in the final stretch of the campaign were “nonsense.”
Chen’s decision came after Dennis Wei (魏揚), another Sunflower leader who also worked on Chiu’s campaign, openly endorsed the Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance before the elections.
NPP Secretary-General Chen Hui-min (陳惠敏) attributed Chen’s decision to “moodiness,” saying she talk with Chen and other members of Chiu’s campaign team about whether there had been any misunderstandings.
“They were under a lot of pressure for a long time and would worry a lot about whether or not the battle against Ker would hamper other candidates,” she said. “This was all really unfair to them, so for those feeling to explode after the election is perfectly normal.”
She denied the party had “cut off” Chiu during the campaign’s final stretch, stating that they had always hoped he would win.
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