Ko Wen-Je

Taiwan’s New President: Continuity, Priorities, Vision

Chieh-ting Yeh
It is no doubt that January 13, 2024, marked a pivotal moment in Taiwan’s political landscape as William Lai Ching-te emerged victorious in the presidential election, securing the mantle from Tsai Ing-wen. Garnering 5.59 million votes, Lai clinched 40.05% of the total ballots, signaling a new chapter in Taiwan’s leadership. Moreover, these elections had received the highest level of attention from the international community in recent memory, with roughly over 400 foreign media personnel in Taiwan covering the event...
EnglishJanuary 2024Politics8 min read

The Taiwan People’s Party as the Kingmaker: What Does the Future Hold for the Party?

Brian Hioe
The results of the presidential and legislative elections, in many ways, confirmed predictions ahead of time. Late polling before the blackout period imposed ten days before elections showed Lai to have a significant lead ahead of his opponents, even if Ko Wen-je’s 3.7 million votes prove an impressive showing for the upstart TPP candidate. Indeed, in the early vote count, it appeared as though Ko could, in fact, be leading Hou, and it could not be ruled out from polls before the election results as to whether Ko or Hou was in second place...
EnglishJanuary 2024Politics8 min read

Neither Green Nor Just: The DPP’s Reckoning With Environmental Justice

Dominika Remžová
The Russian weaponization of gas supplies has sparked a renewed interest in Taiwan’s energy security, placing the DPP’s anti-nuclear policies at the centre of attention. On the one hand, both energy and national security experts have criticized the DPP’s continuing nuclear phase-out for pushing Taiwan, which in 2022 imported more than 97% of its energy, into an increasingly precarious position. The opposition, on the other hand, has criticised the party’s 2025 energy mix formula (i.e., 20% renewable energy, 30% coal, and 50% LNG) for its inconsistency with international trends, namely the increasing role of nuclear energy in global decarbonization efforts, which the DPP countered by referring to industry-wide trends, such as the renewable energy focus of the RE100 initiative, instead....
EnglishJanuary 2023Politics11 min read

Policy Presentation for Parties Divides Along Familiar Lines

Brian Hioe
The first-ever policy presentation for political parties was held on Wednesday. This saw some controversy, with the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, Taiwan Obasan Political Equality Party, and Green Party Taiwan demonstrating that they were given less time to speak than larger more electorally viable parties such as the DPP, KMT, and TPP. While there were sixteen parties represented, the following article will only focus on some of the parties...
EnglishJanuary 2023Politics6 min read