Brian Hioeby Brian Hioe
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Photo Credit: KMT/Facebook
DESPITE MUCH EXPECTATION that the joint ticket between the TPP and KMT would be announced this morning, with it announced who would be the presidential candidate between TPP chair and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je and KMT candidate Han Kuo-yu at aa press conference scheduled for 10 AM, Ko Wen-je has now pulled out of the alliance. That being said, Ko stated that talks will continue between the two parties.
After agreeing to run a joint ticket, something that in itself took many meetings and significant political wrangling, the TPP and KMT disagreed on the means by which it would be decided who is the presidential candidate and who is the vice presidential candidate between Ko and KMT candidate Hou You-yi. The KMT hoped for in-person polling, with ID checks, while the TPP called for telephone polling.
The KMT eventually compromised to allow for telephone polls once it became too late to hold an in-person primary, but the two parties continued to fight over the way that a poll would be conducted. The TPP hoped for greater emphasis on polling mobile phones, with the view that more young people would be included in the sample this way. This would benefit the TPP, given its younger base of support. The KMT compromised after former president Ma Ying-jeou, who continues to play a significant role in the party, as well as 2020 presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu endorsed telephone polling around a week ago. Reports from today indicate that Han will take up a position as the KMT’s first choice in the party list.
From left to right, KMT chair Eric Chu, KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi, former president Ma Ying-jeou, and TPP chair and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je. Photo credit: KMT/Facebook
Finally, on Wednesday, the TPP and KMT agreed to use polls between November 7 and 17 to determine the most popular alignment–a ticket with Hou You-yi as the presidential candidate and Ko Wen-je as the vice president or the opposite. The KMT, TPP, and Ma Ying-jeou would name a polling expert each to decide the alignment. This decision came apparently as a shock to even members of the TPP, seeing as Ko agreed to this in a solo meeting with Ma, Hou, and KMT chair Eric Chu, with widespread reports of Ko’s spokesperson breaking down in tears because this was not what the party had agreed to.
Early signs that the KMT-TPP alliance was fracturing emerged yesterday when Ko demanded that the KMT publicize the results of the polls by 6 PM. This did not take place, with the KMT issuing a statement that the alliance was for the good of Taiwan, not the political interest of any individual. Reportedly, then, the three experts appointed by the respective stakeholders met until 2:30 AM, failing to come to a consensus. The two candidates were competing in six polls. Yesterday was also when former NPP chair Huang Kuo-chang was announced to have formally left the NPP and joined the TPP.
Reports that Ko was pulling out of the alliance began to emerge around 9 AM. However, when asked by a representative of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation at 8:55 AM, Ko claimed that the alliance was still on, just that he needed some time.
Ko and his party held a press conference at 10:30 AM to explain his current stance. Ko outlined how the TPP disagreed with the KMT regarding the margin of error of the poll, with the TPP wanting 3% and the KMT wanting 6%. The TPP also took issue with the KMT not including cell phone polling to its satisfaction. The TPP claimed that its result showed three wins for Ko and three wins for Hou out of the six polls, while the KMT’s results showed five wins for Hou and one for Ko.
Otherwise, the TPP doubled down on its claims that Ko would be the most advantageous candidate, with Ko criticizing the KMT for obstinacy. Ko shrugged off questions about whether he realized what he agreed to in negotiations with the KMT, responding “I am a professor, Eric Chu is also a professor”, and stated that in the future, he would negotiate with the KMT with his party as a whole and not just himself as an individual, so that he would not be taken unaware. Ko also framed it as the KMT that initially wanted an alliance with him and him agreeing for Taiwan’s sake, criticizing the KMT for being unwilling to debate him. Ko further said that he continued to be in dialogue with independent pan-Blue candidate Terry Gou and criticized the KMT for excluding him from discussions.
Moreover, Ko lashed out at media speculation about being shown a piece of paper while meeting with Ma, Chu, and Hou, after which his expression visibly became shocked. Media speculation has hinged around the paper showing something that was used to blackmail him, such as actions in China. Ko stated he would sue anyone who makes such claims.
Ko Wen-je (center). Photo credit: Ko Wen-je/Facebook
Despite this, Ko stated that negotiations with the KMT would continue and that anything was possible before the final registration deadline for candidates of 5 PM on November 24th. The TPP will delay the announcement of its party list to allow for more space to discuss cooperation with the KMT, with Ko framing the dispute between the TPP and KMT as limited to the presidential race. Though Ko was asked about what would happen next, seeing as there is no time to hold further polls, and the TPP will not back down from its claim that Ko should be the presidential candidate, he continued to claim there was still room for discussion.
The DPP has gone on the offensive after the debacle of this morning, with former youth department head Aman Wu calling on TPP members to leave the party, seeing as this morning shows Ko’s incompetence. Even if the TPP and KMT manage to come together in some way, the debacle will likely harm the perceived strength of the alliance, and there will be a number of questions raised about Ko’s leadership. Indeed, given his apparent ineptness in negotiating and making decisions on the fly, some have raised questions about how Ko would fare as leader of Taiwan in dealing with Xi Jinping. The DPP is likely to leverage on such attacks.