NPP’s Huang denies he is establishing a new party

New Power Party (NPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday denied that he would form a new political party, saying that he hopes to integrate all third-force parties to better counter the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in next year’s legislative elections.

Fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢) on Saturday said in a live broadcast that Huang had told him that he could leave the NPP to form a new party.

The party could be called “the white alliance” or “white power,” Chen said.

When asked about the claim at a rally outside the Control Yuan in Taipei, Huang said that a group of people are indeed organizing a new third-force party, which could be named “the white alliance,” but he is not among them.

He has tried to recruit one of them for the NPP, but the party declined on the grounds that it did not want to become a sidekick to the DPP, Huang said.

If the NPP did become a sidekick to the DPP, he would leave without hesitation, because “that is not my political objective,” the former NPP chairman added.

The KMT and DPP have separately held legislative majorities, and “everyone knows how that turned out,” Huang said.

Having more lawmakers from third-force parties would prevent a ruling party from pushing through whatever bill it wants, holding its power in check, he said.

He has two plans to achieve that goal, Huang said.

“Plan A” envisions recruiting more like-minded people to the NPP, while “plan B” would integrate all third-force parties to increase their combined number of seats in the legislature, he said.

He has visited Chen, among others, to receive feedback on how he could integrate and strengthen third-force parties, he said.

Chen was the second person he talked to about the issue and he was to meet with two more people later yesterday, he added.

A major obstacle to plan A is whether the NPP would become the DPP’s sidekick and how it can convince people that it does not simply play a supporting role to the DPP, he said.

Huang said he is open to other options and suggestions.