History
Founding
The party was proposed in August 2019 by Mayor of Taipei Ko Wen-je, for the Ministry of the Interior's approval as one of Taiwan's legal political parties. [15] It is named after political activist Chiang Wei-shui's Taiwanese People's Party, [16] which was formed in 1927 during Japanese colonial rule as Taiwan's first political party against Japanese fascism. The newly formed Taiwan People's Party conducted its founding assembly on 6 August 2019, which was Ko's 60th birthday and Chiang's 129th birthday, as a requirement of the Interior Ministry. [17] According to Ko, the Taiwan People's Party seeks to "become an alternative" to both the Pan-Green Coalition headed by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), as well as the Kuomintang (KMT)-influenced Pan-Blue Coalition. [18] [19] The Diplomat noticed that TPP had recruited heavily from Pan-Blue politicians to form TPP. [20]
Chiang Li-jung, a descendant of Chiang Wei-shui's, stated that Ko was taking advantage of similarities between himself and Chiang Wei-shui. The Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation panned the name of Ko's political party, stating that confusion may arise between it and Chiang's political activity. [21] [22] In response, Ko stated that he preferred to retain the name, as establishing a political party was not an illegal act and therefore should not be hindered in any way. [23] On 2 August 2019, Tseng Hsu-cheng, a former deputy mayor of Tainan, began a petition against the registration of the TPP under that name, citing the historical impact of the earlier Taiwanese People's Party. [24]
At a preliminary meeting on 6 August 2019, Ko was elected chairman of the party. [25] The founding assembly of the Taiwan People's Party was held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center later that day. [26] Of 111 founding party members, 72 attended its founding assembly. [26] [27] The Taiwan People's Party charter permits party members to hold membership status in other political parties. [28] [29] Many early party members worked for the Taipei City Government or for Ko. Among the TPP's first members were politicians formerly affiliated with the DPP and the Kuomintang, as well as a number of political independents. [29]
2020 elections
Ko stated that his Taiwan People's Party would contest the 2020 legislative election, [17] but that he would not mount an independent bid in the presidential election. [30] He later said that the TPP would nominate a full slate of 34 at-large legislative candidates. [31] [28] Political scientist Liao Da-chi opined that Ko's Taiwan People's Party would take more votes from supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party during the 2020 elections. [32] The Taiwan People's Party nominated its first eight candidates for single-member constituencies on 22 September 2019. [33] [34] During a second round of legislative nominations on 20 October 2019, Ko stated that the Taiwan People's Party sought to prevent a single political party from winning a legislative majority. The TPP described this tactic as "pushing the pan-blue and pan-green camps to the side to allow for the people to be in the center." [35] In November 2019, the Taiwan People's Party announced a party list of 29 at-large legislative candidates. [36] [37] In December 2019, the TPP's political goals grew in scale, as Ko stated that the party aimed to be the largest represented in the Legislative Yuan. [38] The TPP won five at-large seats in the 2020 legislative election, becoming the third largest party represented within the legislature. [39] [40]
2024 elections
Ko ran as the official candidate for the TPP in the 2024 presidential election [41] [42] and contested in the legislative election. There were plans for a joint ticket in the presidential election with KMT's Hou Yu-ih. However, talks collapsed before registration for the presidential ballot after disagreements over policies and leadership issues. [43] [44] Ko nominated Cynthia Wu, an at-large legislative member who served the 10th Legislative Yuan and businesswoman, as his running-mate on 24th November. [45] Despite the failure of TPP-KMT joint ticket, TPP and KMT presidential and vice-presidential candidates emphasized they would work together as fellow Pan-Blue parties. [44] The TPP nominated the maximum 34 at-large legislative candidates, and 10 legislative candidates for single-member constituencies, concentrating mostly in northern Taiwan. [46] [47] Ko championed himself as a "middle road" between the KMT and the DPP, attracting young voters that had been dissatisfied with the "big two parties". [48] According to The Diplomat , there is a shift recently in political stance closer to Pan-Blue than to initially Pan-Green. [20] On the other hand, Time and CNN observe the party as remaining centrist, positioning itself as a stark contrast to both the KMT and DPP. [49] [50]
Ko received 26.46% of the popular vote in the presidential election, placing his party in third place, and received 8 at-large legislative seats, gaining 3 seats in total. [51] The TPP had received its greatest result in these presidential and legislative elections since its inception thus far, preventing both KMT and DPP from obtaining a decisive legislative majority. [52]
Symbols and organization
The party charter also states that the party's formal abbreviated name in Chinese is 民眾黨; Mínzhòngdǎng. Prior to the party's founding, Chinese-language media referred to the party as 台民黨; Táimíndǎng. [29] [53] The party colors are turquoise and white. The first signifies an end to the longtime blue–green political divide in Taiwan. The color white represents the "white force" of Ko's allies, a group that supports open and transparent government. [54]
In 2023, the New Homeland Think Tank Association, was established as a TPP-affiliated think tank. [55]
While public opinion of Ko suffered due to corruption investigations, TPP as a whole experienced only a minor decline in support in September 2024. [56]
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