Negotiations over a potential “blue-white alliance” for next year’s presidential election remained deadlocked yesterday, with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) saying that the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) demand for a swift response to its appeal for a joint ticket was like a “forced marriage,” which the KMT rebutted by saying it only wanted to ascertain who would be “the bride and the groom.”
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT’s presidential candidate, said for the first time in an interview with three Chinese-language dailies — the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times), United Daily News and China Times — that he would not insist on being the presidential candidate on a joint ticket with the smaller opposition TPP.
Hou said he was open to running as vice president alongside rival candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) of the TPP to unseat the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
However, Hou stressed the necessity of being on the same ticket with Ko, who had earlier said that if he leads the presidential ticket, the vice presidential position could be open to anyone recommended by the KMT.
“For the KMT-TPP alliance to be completed and achieve a change in [ruling] parties, the names of both individuals [his and Ko’s] must be on the same ballot,” Hou said.
The KMT and the TPP have been deadlocked on how to present a unified front in the election to challenge the DPP, because both Hou and Ko want to head a presidential ticket, and the parties have disagreed on how to determine the best choice.
The KMT has proposed conducting an open primary, while the TPP has suggested conducting polls.
The polling methodology proposed by the TPP involves 50 percent representation from landline surveys and 50 percent from mobile phone surveys, or exclusively using mobile phones.
Hou said in the interview that the top billing could be decided by incorporating both a primary and polls, with each given equal weight, an apparent compromise intended to resolve the deadlock.
Hou’s campaign office previously announced plans to conduct the primary on Nov. 5.
Hou said that preparations for such a vote would take approximately 10 days.
Based on this timeline, he said he expects a response from Ko by today.
Ko yesterday said that issuing an ultimatum and demanding a response within a day is not the way to go.
“It feels like a major party suppressing a smaller one,” Ko said, likening Hou’s proposal to a “forced marriage” that leaves him with no room for choice.
Ko said he hoped the stalemate could be resolved before the end of the month.
Later yesterday, Hou held a press conference alongside KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), saying that whether it is the TPP’s timetable of the end of this month or the KMT’s Nov. 5 deadline, time is of the essence and they would just like Ko to ascertain whether “the ones in the marriage are Ko and Hou” before negotiations could continue.
“Only when both sides are willing can the marriage be successful,” Hou added.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han and Huang Chin-hsuan
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in