Taiwan People's Party

Not to be confused with Taiwanese People's Party (1927–1931).

Taiwan People's Party 台灣民眾黨
Abbreviation	TPP
Chairman	Ko Wen-je (Suspended)
Secretary-General	Vincent Chou  [ zh ]
Founder	Ko Wen-je
Founded	6 August 2019 (2019-08-06)
Headquarters	No. 27, Section 1, Hangzhou South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Membership (2023)	32,500 [1]
Ideology	Civic nationalism [2] Social liberalism [3] Populism [8]
Political position	Centre-left [12]
Colours	Cyan   White
Legislative Yuan	8 / 113
Municipal mayors	0 / 6
Magistrates/mayors	1 / 16
Councillors	15 / 910
Township/city mayors	0 / 204
Website
tpp.org.tw
Politics of Taiwan Political parties Elections

Taiwan People's Party
Traditional Chinese	台灣民眾黨
Simplified Chinese	台湾民众党
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Mínzhòngdǎng Bopomofo ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄓㄨㄥˋ ㄉㄤˇ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Tairuan Minjonqdaang Wade–Giles Tʻai2-wan1 Min2-chung4-tang3 Tongyong Pinyin Táiwan Mín-jhòng-dǎng MPS2 Tái-wān Mín-jùng-dǎng IPA [tʰǎɪ.wán mǐn.ʈʂʊ̂ŋ.tàŋ] Hakka Romanization Toi-Van Min Zung Dong Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tâi-oân Bîn-chiòng Tóng Tâi-lô Tâi-uân Bîn-tsiòng Tóng

The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) is a centre-left political party in Taiwan. It was formally established on 6 August 2019 by Ko Wen-je, who serves as its first and current chairman. The party considers itself as an alternative third party to both the Democratic Progressive Party and Kuomintang. ^[13]

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. ^[14] It is named after political activist Chiang Wei-shui's Taiwanese People's Party, ^[15] 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. ^[16] 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. ^{[17] [18]} The Diplomat noticed that TPP had recruited heavily from Pan-Blue politicians to form TPP. ^[19]

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. ^{[20] [21]} 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. ^[22] 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. ^[23]

At a preliminary meeting on 6 August 2019, Ko was elected chairman of the party. ^[24] The founding assembly of the Taiwan People's Party was held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center later that day. ^[25] Of 111 founding party members, 72 attended its founding assembly. ^{[25] [26]} The Taiwan People's Party charter permits party members to hold membership status in other political parties. ^{[27] [28]} 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. ^[28]

2020 elections

Ko stated that his Taiwan People's Party would contest the 2020 legislative election, ^[16] but that he would not mount an independent bid in the presidential election. ^[29] He later said that the TPP would nominate a full slate of 34 at-large legislative candidates. ^{[30] [27]} 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. ^[31] The Taiwan People's Party nominated its first eight candidates for single-member constituencies on 22 September 2019. ^{[32] [33]} 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." ^[34] In November 2019, the Taiwan People's Party announced a party list of 29 at-large legislative candidates. ^{[35] [36]} 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. ^[37] The TPP won five at-large seats in the 2020 legislative election, becoming the third largest party represented within the legislature. ^{[38] [39]}

2020 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election

Wu Yi-jheng of the TPP also ran a candidate in the 2020 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election. However, he finished with only 4.06% of the vote, a distant third to Chen Chi-mai of the DPP (70.03%) and Li Mei-jhen of the KMT (25.90%).

2024 elections

Ko ran as the official candidate for the TPP in the 2024 presidential election ^{[40] [41]} 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. ^{[42] [43]} Ko nominated Cynthia Wu, an at-large legislative member who served the 10th Legislative Yuan and businesswoman, as his running-mate on 24th November. ^[44] 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. ^[43] The TPP nominated the maximum 34 at-large legislative candidates, and 10 legislative candidates for single-member constituencies, concentrating mostly in northern Taiwan. ^{[45] [46]} 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". ^[47] According to The Diplomat , there is a shift recently in political stance closer to Pan-Blue than to initially Pan-Green. ^[19] 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. ^{[48] [49]}

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. ^[50] 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. ^[51]

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. ^{[28] [52]} 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. ^[53]

In 2023, the New Homeland Think Tank Association, was established as a TPP-affiliated think tank. ^[54]

While public opinion of Ko suffered due to corruption investigations, TPP as a whole experienced only a minor decline in support in September 2024. ^[55]

Election results

Presidential elections

Election	Candidate	Running mate	Total votes	Share of votes	Outcome
2024	Ko Wen-je	Cynthia Wu	3,690,466	26.46%	Defeated

Legislative elections

Election	Total seats won	Total votes	Share of votes	Changes	Party leader	Status	President
2020	5 / 113	1,588,806	11.22%		Ko Wen-je	3rd Party	Tsai Ing-wen
2024	8 / 113	3,040,334	22.07%	3 seats	Ko Wen-je	3rd Party	Lai Ching-te

Local elections

Election	Magistrates and mayors	Councillors	Township/city mayors	Township/city council representatives	Village chiefs	Party leader
2022 unified	2 / 22	14 / 910	0 / 204	9 / 2,139	3 / 7,748	Ko Wen-je

Notable members

• Ko Wen-je, former mayor of Taipei, current chairman of the Taiwan People's Party.
• Tsai Pi-ru, Taichung City Government consultant, former chief of staff of Taipei, former member of Legislative Yuan.
• Huang Shan-shan, member of Legislative Yuan, former deputy mayor of Taipei.
• Ann Kao, former member of Legislative Yuan, mayor of Hsinchu, sentenced for corruption.
• Chen Fu-hai, magistrate of Kinmen County.
• Huang Kuo-chang, caucus leader in the Legislative Yuan, former executive leader of the New Power Party.
• Andy Chiu, deputy mayor of Hsinchu, former caucus leader in the Legislative Yuan.
• Jang Chyi-lu, an economist, former member of Legislative Yuan.
• Tsai Ping-kun, former deputy mayor of Taipei.
• Hsieh Li-kung  [ zh ], former director-general of the National Immigration Agency, left the Kuomintang for the Taiwan People's Party on 31 May 2020. ^[56]
• Chen Wan-hui, former member of Legislative Yuan.
• Cynthia Wu, Shin Kong Group heiress, former member of Legislative Yuan and vice-presidential candidate.
• Wu Yi-jheng  [ zh ], former Kaohsiung city councillor and 2020 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election candidate.
• Huang Ching-yin, former deputy spokesperson for the Taipei City Government Secretariat  [ zh ], Taipei City Councillor, Taipei City Constituency I.
• Mạch Ngọc Trân, Taiwan’s first Vietnamese member of Legislative Yuan.

References

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4. Klein, Axel; Krumbein, Frédéric; Mosler, Hannes (1 February 2022). "Populism in East Asian Democracies: Report on the International Lecture Series of the Institute of East Asian Studies, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany (Oct 2020 – Feb 2021)". International Journal of Taiwan Studies. 5: 187–201. doi:10.1163/24688800-20211241. S2CID   246929274 . Retrieved 14 November 2023.
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9. "逼宮立委2／「帶職參選」成緊箍咒？民眾黨高層已有定論". 周刊王 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 27 January 2022. 以政治光譜來說，民眾黨是中間偏左，親民黨則是中間偏右[...]
10. "【關鍵時事】韓國瑜心腹黃文財加入民眾黨，與其說「藍洗白」更像是做白工". The News Lens (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 27 August 2021. 民眾黨的理想顏色應該是中間偏左[...]
11. Ko Wen-je. 【柯P老實說】我心目中的「國家治理」：執政不難，莫忘初衷而已｜20210123 國家治理學院國政班結業式演說 (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 民眾之聲. 53:13—53:24 minutes in. 我們比較主張社會民主主義，我覺得我們還是希望說接近北歐西歐，而不是美國，這是中間偏左的概念。
12. ^{[9] [10] [11]}
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19. Hioe, Brian; Nachman, Lev (28 November 2023). "From Green to Blue: The Political History of Ko Wen-je". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 28 November 2023. Retrieved 29 May 2024. ...An incident that crystallized the growing pan-Green consensus against Ko was his defense of his exchanges with China – even after student demonstrators protesting events held as part of the exchanges were attacked on the campus of National Taiwan University by gangsters with ties to pro-unification groups in September 2017...By 2018, Ko was seen as more pan-Blue than pan-Green...The TPP branded itself as being above Blue-Green politics. Despite such claims, Ko recruited heavily from the pan-Blue established politicians to form his new party. His number two and the TPP's candidate to succeed Ko as Taipei mayor in 2022, Huang Shan-shan, was even previously a member of the pro-unification New Party...
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27. Maxon, Ann (8 August 2019). "NPP to be most affected by Ko's new party: Huang". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
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43. Hioe, Brian (2 February 2024). "KMT's Han Kuo-yu Is Taiwan's New Legislative Speaker". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024. ...the Taiwan People's Party (TPP), a pan-Blue third party, came to hold the crucial balance of power in the legislature...During the vice presidential and presidential debates, both the TPP and KMT candidates emphasized that the two parties would seek to work together, as fellow pan-Blue parties. This spirit of cooperation remained intact even though the two parties had failed to successfully negotiate a joint presidential ticket...the TPP and KMT were never able to arrive at a joint ticket because neither Ko nor Hou was willing to become the vice presidential candidate of the other...
44. Lin, Sean (24 November 2023). "Election 2024/TPP's Ko registers presidential candidacy, names lawmaker Wu as running mate". Central News Agency. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
45. "315 legislative candidates have registered". Central News Agency. Taipei Times. 26 November 2023.
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47. Hawkings, Amy (10 January 2024). "Ko Wen-je: the provocative outsider who could tip Taiwan election balance". The Guardian.
48. Campbell, Charlie (10 January 2024). "Taiwan Wants Peace and Economic Stability—Now It Could Hinge on a High-Stakes Choice". Time. Archived from the original on 13 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024. According to last permitted polling before the vote, the China-skeptic incumbent Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of Vice-President William Lai holds a slender lead over the more Beijing-friendly Nationalists, or KMT, with the upstart centrist Taiwan People's Party (TPP) in third place.
49. de Acosta, Rosa; de Shveda, Krystina; Chacon, Marco (12 January 2024). "A visual guide to Taiwan's high-stakes presidential election". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024. Taiwan People's Party (TPP), a centrist alternative party founded only in 2019.
50. "第16任總統副總統及第11屆立法委員選舉". 中央選舉委員會.
51. Hsiao, Alison (13 January 2024). "No party gets majority in Legislature; KMT wins most seats". Focus Taiwan.
52. Fan, Shih-ping (15 August 2019). "TPP off to a disappointing start". Taipei Times . Retrieved 16 August 2019.
53. Huang, Tzu-ti (16 September 2019). "Taiwan People's Party website hacked in cyberattack". Taiwan News . Retrieved 16 September 2019.
54. Huang, Ching-yu; Madjar, Kayleigh (21 January 2023). "Ko to visit US for TPP, head think tank". Taipei Times . Retrieved 21 January 2023.
55. Bilinski, Hanna (16 September 2024). "Public opinion of Ko Wen-je declines, but TPP reputation remains intact". Radio Taiwan International.
56. Wang, Chao-yu; Liu, Kuan-ting; Wang, Hung-kuo; Chiang, Yi-ching (31 May 2020). "Former National Immigration Agency head to leave KMT for TPP". Central News Agency . Retrieved 31 May 2020.

External links

• Official website