Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said today that he plans to run in next year’s New Taipei City mayoral election.
The TPP’s national congress yesterday did not change its policy that legislators-at-large step down after two years.
In an interview with the online news platform “Stop Pretending” this morning, Huang said that the two-year clause was a promise made by TPP founder and former chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and that he agrees with the policy.
Photo: Taipei Times
After leading the TPP in the Legislative Yuan for two years, Huang said he would step down from the role on Jan. 31 next year along with other current TPP legislators-at-large.
TPP legislators Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷) and Lin Kuo-cheng (林國成) have done well and would aim to “obtain executive power” in the future, starting with next year’s county commissioner and city mayoral elections, he said.
Responding to questions from the program host, Huang said he would run in the New Taipei City mayoral election next year.
The risk is high if three candidates run, because if the TPP and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidates each receive 30 percent of the vote, the Democratic Progressive Party candidate could win with just 35 to 40 percent, Huang said.
The KMT is a large and powerful party with many outstanding members, and has much to consider, he said.
He added that the KMT and TPP are willing to talk with each other, but the KMT responded “rather coldly” when he reached out with goodwill.
Huang said his first priority is to unseat President William Lai (賴清德) in the 2028 elections and would not do anything to jeopardize that goal.
He said his second guiding principle is that he would not run if he was not confident he could win.
The TPP cannot just cling to a few seats in the Legislative Yuan — it must branch out and expand its presence across the country, he added.
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