Newly re-elected Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Saturday said that his upcoming departure from the Taipei mayoral office would allow the TPP to fully focus on cultivating talent ahead of the 2024 elections.
Hours after his re-election, Ko wrote on social media that his top priority during his second term as TPP chairman would be improving the party’s organizational structure.
This would include implementing an open and fair selection, promotion and assessment system for leadership and grassroots positions, Ko said.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Splitting his time between the TPP and his duties as mayor in the three years since the party’s founding had led to internal disputes, Ko said, vowing to devote himself to the development of the party.
Ko lauded the TPP’s strong showing in the local elections last month, in which the party’s candidates won the mayoral vote in Hsinchu, as well as 14 city and county councilor races.
Adressing TPP members, Ko said that as a minor political party, the TPP must position itself to “serve the people” by being innovative, serious and responsible.
Observers have said that while the TPP would seek to win additional legislative seats in 2024, its main objective would be winning the presidential election, with Ko being its likely candidate.
Among those who were on Saturday elected to leadership positions within the party were Taipei Department of Information and Tourism Commissioner Liu Yi-ting (劉奕霆); Ko’s sister, Ko Mei-lan (柯美蘭); former TPP spokesman Jimmy Chang (張清俊); and Shih Shu-ting (施淑婷), a candidate of the party for Hsinchu City councilor in last month’s elections.
Ko Wen-je’s first challenge after he starts his second term on Jan. 1 would be to help the TPP regroup and identify strong candidates for legislative elections, party sources said.
With Ko Wen-je expected to gain total control over the TPP’s Central Committee, the candidates fielded by the party could “make or break” Ko Wen-je, who would have to shoulder the ultimate responsibility if the party underperforms in the 2024 elections, they said.
While the pan-green and pan-blue camps believe that Ko Wen-je is likely to run for president, they believe that he is unlikely to win, the sources said.
Ko Wen-je should seek to create a “third force” by teaming up with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) or former New Power Party lawmaker Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), they said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
Seven senior faculty members, including the principal, of a high school in Taichung were temporarily suspended from their jobs on Friday, pending an investigation by the Taichung Education Bureau into alleged bullying and abuse that led to the suicide of a student last month. The city’s education officials were too slow to suspend those involved, the student’s father told a news conference on Wednesday, at which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) and members of the Humanistic Education Foundation were also present. The boy had been a good student and a high achiever during elementary and junior-high, and had
RSS