Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), who is also the chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), yesterday in Prague, Czech Republic, said that TPP legislator-at-large-elect Tsai Pi-ju’s (蔡璧如) remark that the party would form an alliance of opposition party caucuses in the Legislative Yuan is inaccurate, as it intends to form a “people’s alliance.”
The TPP won 11.2 percent of party votes in Saturday’s legislative elections, passing the 5 percent threshold and securing five legislator-at-large seats.
Tsai on Monday said that the party plans to form an alliance with other opposition parties — the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the New Power Party (NPP) — in the Legislative Yuan to closely monitor the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Photo courtesy of the Taipei City Government
KMT caucus whip William Tseng (曾銘宗) on Tuesday said that the KMT is open to the idea, but cooperation with the TPP would depend on whether the two parties agree on certain issues, adding that they could start from economic issues.
“Chickens and rabbits cannot share the same cage,” NPP Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said on Tuesday, adding that cooperation should be based on sharing similar ideals and values, but the NPP and the KMT do not share the same fundamental values, and the NPP does not know the TPP’s direction yet, so it is too soon to speak about the possibility of forming an alliance.
Independent Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) said the TPP was formed last year and is about to enter the Legislative Yuan, but it does not have a clear stance regarding its main ideals as well as many issues, such as national security and foreign relations, adding that forming an alliance without shared ideals would amount to political manipulation.
Ko, speaking with Taiwanese reporters in Prague, said that the term “an alliance of opposition parties” is inaccurate, because the TPP wants to avoid conflict between ideologies and focus on solving people’s livelihood issues, so it should rather be called a “people’s alliance.”
Asked about speculation that the TPP is apparently a member of the pan-blue camp, Ko said the party does not want to be categorized by the blue-green divide, and that it would discuss issues that are beneficial to the public, adding that it can cooperate with the KMT, the DPP or any other party as long as the proposals are reasonable.
Tsai and TPP legislators would bring the experience they gained in the Taipei City Government, as well as their credo that the government should be open and transparent, to the Legislative Yuan, Ko said.
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