Taiwan People's Party

The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) is a centrist[7] political party in the Republic of China (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 Guomindang.[7]

Not to be confused with Taiwanese People's Party (1927–1931).
Taiwan People's Party
台灣民眾黨
AbbreviationTPP
ChairmanKo Wen-je
Secretary-GeneralTom Chou
FounderKo Wen-je
Founded6 August 2019 (2019-08-06)
HeadquartersNo. 27, Section 1, Hangzhou South Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan
Membership (2021)7,976[1]
IdeologyPopulism[2][3]
Liberalism[4]
Reformism[5]
Political positionCentre[6]
Colours  Cyan
  White
Legislative Yuan
5 / 113
Municipal mayors
0 / 6
Magistrates/mayors
2 / 16
Councillors
14 / 910
Township/city mayors
0 / 204
Website
www.tpp.org.tw
Taiwan People's Party
Traditional Chinese台灣民眾黨
Simplified Chinese台湾民众党
Politics of
the Republic of China (Taiwan)
Government
Presidency
Executive
Legislature
National Assembly (defunct)
Control Yuan (chamber defunct)
Judiciary
Other branches
Elections
Political parties
Propaganda
Foreign relations
Related topics
flag Taiwan portal

Application process

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.[8] It is named after political activist Chiang Wei-shui's Taiwanese People's Party,[9] 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.[10] 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.[11][12]

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.[13][14] 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.[15] 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.[16]

Founding

At a preliminary meeting on 6 August 2019, Ko was elected chairman of the party.[17] The founding assembly of the Taiwan People's Party was held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center later that day.[18] Of 111 founding party members, 72 attended its founding assembly.[18][19] The Taiwan People's Party charter permits party members to hold membership status in other political parties.[20][21] 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 Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang, as well as a number of political independents.[21]

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.[21][22] 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.[23]

In 2023, the New Homeland Think Tank Association, was established as a TPP-affiliated think tank.[24]

2020 elections

Ko stated that his Taiwan People's Party would contest the 2020 Taiwan legislative election,[10] but that he would not mount an independent bid in the 2020 Taiwan presidential election.[25] He later said that the TPP would nominate a full slate of 34 at-large legislative candidates.[26][20] 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.[27] The Taiwan People's Party nominated its first eight candidates for single-member constituencies on 22 September 2019.[28][29] 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."[30] In November 2019, the Taiwan People's Party announced a party list of 29 at-large legislative candidates.[31][32] 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.[33] The TPP won five at-large seats in the 2020 legislative election, becoming the third largest party represented within the legislature.[34][35]

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%).

Election results

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

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

References
  1. "【民眾黨公告】感謝7976位朋友作伙「起造新台灣」" (Press release). 台灣民眾黨. 2021-09-05. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  2. "Despite Tsai's Victory, Nationalism and Populism are Still Strong in Taiwan". Taiwan Insight. 2020-01-22. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  3. "柯粉下跌，台灣政治的隱喻". 端傳媒 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  4. "「自由派」的民眾黨與「進步派」的時力，將是立法院超越藍綠的「不關鍵少數」". The News Lens 關鍵評論網 (in Chinese). 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  5. "CORE VALUES". Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. "Taiwan's new centrist political party is struggling for space". The Nikkei. 23 August 2019. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  7. Donovan Smith, Courtney (23 April 2023). "Taiwan People's Party positions itself for power politics". Taiwan News. Retrieved 25 June 2023. TPP tries to get back to its stated roots, a centrist party between DPP and KMT.
  8. Strong, Matthew (31 July 2019). "Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je to launch new party". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  9. Liang, Pei-chi; Wang, Cheng-chung; Huang, Frances (31 July 2019). "Taipei mayor to establish political party". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 31 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
  10. Liang, Pei-chi; Kao, Evelyn (1 August 2019). "Taipei mayor says his party will give voters more choices". Central News Agency. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  11. Chen, Ching-min; Hetherington, William (2 August 2019). "Ko launches 'Taiwan people's party'". Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  12. Teng, Pei-ju (1 August 2019). "Taipei mayor to form political party, seek legislative power". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  13. Huang, Tzu-ti (1 August 2019). "Taipei Mayor's choice of party name irks family of late activist". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 1 August 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  14. Strong, Matthew (1 August 2019). "The Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation's Statement about Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je forming the "Taiwanese People's Party"". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  15. Lee, I-chia (4 August 2019). "Ko says party name should only change if it is illegal". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  16. Hung, Jui-chin; Chin, Jonathan (7 August 2019). "Ko party petition clears legal step". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  17. Everington, Keoni (6 August 2019). "Taipei Mayor founds Taiwan People's Party, elected chairman". Taiwan News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  18. Lee, I-chia (7 August 2019). "Ko elected chairman at TPP founding". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
  19. Liang, Pei-chi; Ku, Chuan; Chen, Yi-hsuan; Yeh, Joseph (6 August 2019). "Taiwan People's Party formed by Taipei mayor". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  20. 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.
  21. Hioe, Brian (6 August 2019). "What does the formation of the Taiwan People's Party mean for the 2020 elections?". New Bloom. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  22. Fan, Shih-ping (15 August 2019). "TPP off to a disappointing start". Taipei Times. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  23. Huang, Tzu-ti (16 September 2019). "Taiwan People's Party website hacked in cyberattack". Taiwan News. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  24. Huang, Ching-yu; Madjar, Kayleigh (21 January 2023). "Ko to visit US for TPP, head think tank". Taipei Times. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
  25. Lee, I-chia (18 September 2019). "Ko also decides not to run for president". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  26. Lee, I-chia (8 August 2019). "Ko planning to nominate 34 for legislator-at-large". Taipei Times. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  27. Ku, Chuan; Chung, Yu-chen (1 August 2019). "New party announced by Taipei mayor a setback to DPP: scholar". Central News Agency. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  28. Liang, Pei-chi; Yeh, Joseph (22 September 2019). "Ko's TPP nominates 8 regional legislative candidates for 2020". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  29. Lee, I-chia (23 September 2019). "TPP names nominees for legislative elections". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  30. Lee, I-chia (21 October 2019). "New candidates join TPP as Ko unveils its goal". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 20 October 2019. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  31. Liang, Pei-chi; Hsu, Elizabeth (19 November 2019). "2020 Elections: Taipei labor chief tops TPP legislator-at-large list". Central News Agency. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
  32. Lee, I-chia (20 November 2019). "JAN. 11 ELECTIONS: TPP unveils legislator-at-large list with 29 names". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  33. Chen, Ching-min (28 December 2019). "2020 Elections: TPP aims to become largest party: Ko". Taipei Times. Archived from the original on 29 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  34. Lee, I-chia (12 January 2020). "2020 Elections: Taiwan People's Party tops among 'third force' parties". Taipei Times. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  35. Lee, I-chia (13 January 2020). "2020 Elections: TPP 'revolution' is just beginning, Ko Wen-je says". Taipei Times. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  36. Wang, Chao-yu; Liu, Kuan-ting; Wang, Hung-kuo; Chiang, Yi-ching (May 31, 2020). "Former National Immigration Agency head to leave KMT for TPP". Central News Agency. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
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