The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Saturday evening said the party gained 7,661 new members in the week after the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13.
The TPP’s official Facebook page posted the proverb “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” alongisde the announcement, saying that the the total number of party members has risen to 32,484 people.
With the TPP attracting many young supporters, local media have reported that some parents are worried about their children attending TPP campaign events, complaining that their children are coming under the influence of the party.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The TPP has also released data on the age profile of its new members.
Of the 7,661 new members, 2 percent are 16 to 20 years old, 19 percent are 21 to 30 years old, 38 percent are 31 to 40 years old, 27 percent are 41 to 50 years old, 10 percent are 51 to 60 years old, 3 percent are 61 to 70 years old and 1 percent are 71 years old or older, the party’s data show.
Meanwhile, TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday held a meet-and-greet event in Taipei to show gratitude to his supporters.
At the event, Ko said his supporters could be proud of the party’s campaign successes, with it being the only political party to run an election as if it were conducting a social movement, and that many of its campaign events were made possible thanks to volunteers, while other parties relied on party workers.
In response to media queries on whether the TPP would cooperate with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) or the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to vote for the new speaker in the Legislative Yuan, Ko said that so far only KMT legislator-elect Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has replied to the TPP’s proposal for legislative reform.
The legislative election on Jan. 13 saw no party secure a legislative majority for the first time since 2004.
With the DPP winning 51 seats of the 113-seat legislature and the KMT 52, the TPP holds a decisive minority in the new legislature with eight seats.
Ko said that other candidates who wish to run for speaker have not responded and that the TPP would wait for their responses before making a decision on who it would choose to back, adding that they should do so before Sunday.
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