It has become clear what kind of people former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and TPP Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) are.
As the quote often attributed to US essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson says: “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Potential cooperation between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) of the blue camp and the TPP of the white camp over campaigning for November’s local elections has become a top political focal point.
Last month, Ko publicly criticized Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the KMT, saying that the mayor’s free milk for students policy was populist and warning him not to overestimate his own capabilities.
Ko’s criticism sparked dissatisfaction in the blue camp, with several KMT Taipei city councilors accusing him of being caustic and bitter, and being the biggest unknown in the “blue-white alliance.”
There was also division among TPP supporters. A key member of a supporters’ group criticized Ko for his remarks, which hurt the alliance’s unity. The member even advocated that Huang take over all the roles Ko has that paint him as the party’s spiritual leader.
Other TPP backers still favor Ko, arguing that his assessment of the milk policy was accurate and accusing Ko critics of being against the white camp or manipulated by the pan-green camp.
While it seems obvious that Ko’s remarks widened the gap between the blue and white camps, it has also provoked a significant power struggle among TPP supporters.
In 2023, the year that Huang joined the TPP from the New Power Party, he was photographed carrying a balloon depicting Ko on his shoulders, which is a metaphor for Huang’s situation. People online have compared his rise in the TPP to Han Xin (韓信), a Han Dynasty-era Chinese general who endured the humiliation of crawling between the legs of a man who threatened to kill him “to preserve his life and achieve great things.”
Given the morals and psychological state of Huang, Ko could not allow him to continue being a legislator. More political struggles between them can be expected.
The comparison to a power struggle in ancient China works for Ko, too. Presidential Office Secretary-General Chen Chu (陳菊) should be thanked for backing then-Democratic Progressive Party legislator Pasuya Yao as the party’s candidate in the 2018 Taipei mayoral election. Although Ko won, Yao exposed where his allegiances lie and Ko was cut from the pro-Taiwan camp. Attacks from within are the most difficult to handle. Luckily, Ko is no longer the pan-green camp’s problem.
The TPP is actually a small dictatorship. Although Ko is not wise, he is not so ignorant as to not understand Huang’s intentions. The two are simply trying to exploit each other. Ko should have known the miserable fate of choosing Huang as his successor. People know their own kind best.
The relationship between Ko and Huang might look seamless on the surface. Ko was even a guest on Huang’s YouTube show last month, on which Huang pledged loyalty by saying he believes Ko is 100 percent innocent in corruption cases he faces while joking about the TPP’s “two suns.”
However, beneath this surface is a power struggle, with Ko hinting that Huang will be the next to be prosecuted.
The Chinese palace drama will continue, revealing the cruelty and unpredictability of political reality, which is often more astonishing than fiction.
As the saying goes: “Power does not change you; it reveals who you are.”
Li Jung-shian is a professor in National Cheng Kung University’s Institute of Computer and Communication Engineering.
Translated by Eddy Chang
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