Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) plans to nominate at least 34 candidates for legislator-at-large seats in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
While Ko has yet to confirm whether he would run for president, he has said that one of the party’s goals is to win several legislative seats.
Following the TPP’s formal establishment on Tuesday and his election as chairman, Ko said in a radio interview later in the day that the party would nominate the maximum number of candidates for 34 legislator-at-large seats, because they should have “the determination to fight across the world (征戰天下).”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Asked by reporters to elaborate on his plans, Ko yesterday said that he did not want to repeat the New Power Party’s (NPP) strategic mistake in the 2016 legislative elections, when it only nominated six candidates for legislators-at-large.
Although the NPP had a high approval rating of more than 10 percent before the elections, many of its supporters thought that if it received more than the needed number of votes for six seats, the excess votes would be wasted, so some turned to vote for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidates, Ko said.
He added that he also has to think of the gender equality requirement for legislators-at-large and the risks of a nominee dropping out.
The NPP caucus is facing the risk of being dissolved, as it requires three party members to form a caucus, Ko said.
He was referring to the NPP’s suspension last month of Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal amid allegations of influence peddling and abuse of power.
Asked if he aims to replace the NPP in the Legislative Yuan with his party’s members, Ko said the TPP is still searching for suitable nominees, but it can only recruit new members after it receives the Ministry of the Interior’s official approval.
Winning legislative seats from constituency votes will be more difficult for the TPP, so it will focus on securing legislator-at-large seats next year, he said.
Nominees who fail to secure a seat next year can serve as assistants or office director for those who do, which should help train them for future posts, he said in the interview.
Asked if he is worried that the TPP might attract unwanted members from other parties because it allows dual-party membership, Ko said that he hopes to transcend the pan-blue and pan-green camps with this strategy, so people of either camps can exist harmoniously in society.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard