The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) made gains in the Jan. 13 legislative elections, with its success — and its potentially influential position when the next legislative session starts — widely attributed to support from young people without strong party affiliations.
However, Huang Kai-ping (黃凱苹), a political science professor at National Taiwan University, delved into the core beliefs of TPP backers.
Huang said at a forum that such voters occupy a relatively middle ground on relations with China and lean away from populism.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
The rise of a third party in a system that has long favored two major parties was an interesting phenomenon, she said, adding that TPP supporters have a different outlook from those who back the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
Huang cited data from an online survey conducted on Dec. 17 in which people were asked who they would support in the presidential and legislative elections, and their views on ties with China and other issues.
TPP supporters were just as mainstream in their support for the “status quo” on China as DPP and KMT backers, she said.
The survey garnered 974 valid responses. Of those who backed TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in the presidential election, 92.1 percent supported the “status quo” and there were similar results for those who backed the other two candidates. Among those who supported New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the KMT, 96.8 percent favored the “status quo,” while the rate was 84.8 percent for Vice President William Lai (賴清德) of the DPP.
The difference in views was more evident in the breakdown of four interpretations of what the “status quo” might mean — “eventual unification with China,” “anti-independence,” “anti-unification” or “eventual formal independence from China.”
Fifty point two percent of Ko’s supporters leaned toward anti-unification and 27.1 percent favored eventual independence.
In contrast, Lai’s supporters were more inclined toward independence (43 percent) and 34.8 percent backed anti-unification.
Hou’s backers favored anti-independence (33.9 percent), anti-unification (32.2 percent) and eventual unification (17.7 percent), the survey showed.
Ko’s supporters were more closely aligned with Hou’s backers in favoring economic and political interaction with China, while Lai voters marginally favored economic engagement, but opposed political interaction, Huang said.
Ko’s supporters “favored a middle-ground approach to cross-strait relations, believing that showing goodwill could lower the temperature and avoid harsher measures like trade restrictions or military escalation,” she said.
Critics say that the TPP is a populist party that used social media to build a following, but add that it has no clear policy positions.
Huang did not comment on whether Ko or the party are “populist,” but she disagreed that its supporters should be portrayed that way.
Populism is defined as being anti-institutional and anti-elite, but in Taiwan, voters tend to all be anti-elite and anti-establishment regardless of political affiliation, Huang said.
Instead of being populist, it would be more accurate to say the Taiwanese electorate generally supports democracy, and checks and balances, she said.
They also all overwhelmingly disagree with the idea that a leader could have unlimited power to act on behalf of the public, or that a government that has wide support should be able to do whatever it wants, Huang said.
The election results on Jan. 13 are somewhat reflective of that, she added.
In the presidential race, no candidate won an absolute majority. Lai won with 40.05 percent of the vote, followed by Hou with 33.5 percent and Ko with 26.5 percent.
In the 113-seat Legislative Yuan, the TPP won eight legislator-at-large seats, giving it a pivotal role after neither the DPP (51 seats) nor the KMT (52 seats) acheived a 57-seat absolute majority.
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
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
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition