Taiwan People's Party


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

Founding

On 1 August 2019, Mayor of Taipei Ko Wen-je announced a new political party. He said that the Taiwan People's Party seeks to "become an alternative" to both the Pan-Green Coalition headed by the Democratic Progressive Party and the Kuomintang -influenced Pan-Blue Coalition.
At a preliminary meeting on 6 August, Ko was elected chairman of the party. As required by the Ministry of the Interior, the Taiwan People's Party conducted its founding assembly at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center later that day. It was Ko's 60th birthday. Seventy-two of the 111 founding party members were in attendance. The TPP charter permits party members to hold membership status in other political parties. 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 KMT, as well as a number of political independents.
The TPP shares a Chinese-language name with Japanese-colonial era political activist Chiang Wei-shui's now defunct Taiwanese People's Party, just with an alternate character for “tái”. The Chiang Wei-shui Cultural Foundation panned the name of Ko's new party, stating that it might cause confusion. In response, Ko said that he preferred to retain the name unless it was illegal.

2020 elections

Ko stated that the Taiwan People's Party would contest the 2020 legislative election, but that he would not mount an independent bid in the presidential election. He later said that the TPP would nominate a full slate of 34 at-large legislative candidates. Political scientist Liao Da-chi opined that Ko's Taiwan People's Party would take more votes from supporters of the Democratic Progressive Party in the 2020 election. The TPP nominated its first eight candidates for single-member constituencies on 22 September 2019. During a second round of legislative nominations on 20 October 2019, Ko stated that the TPP 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." In November 2019, the TPP announced a party list of 29 at-large legislative candidates. 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. The TPP won five at-large seats in the 2020 legislative election, becoming the third largest party in the legislature.

2020 Kaohsiung mayoral by-election

Wu Yi-jheng of the TPP ran 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 and Li Mei-jhen of the KMT.

2024 elections

The Taiwan People's Party nominated Ko to run in the 2024 presidential election and contested the legislative election. There were efforts to run a joint opposition ticket in the presidential race with the KMT's Hou Yu-ih, but talks ultimately collapsed. Ko nominated Cynthia Wu, an at-large legislator and businesswoman who served in the 10th Legislative Yuan, as his running mate on 24 November. The TPP nominated the maximum number of 34 at-large legislative candidates and 10 legislative candidates for single-member constituencies, concentrated mostly in northern Taiwan. Ko championed himself as a "middle road" between the KMT and the DPP, attracting young voters who were dissatisfied with the "big two parties". According to The Diplomat, there is a shift recently in political stance closer to Pan-Blue than to initially Pan-Green. On the other hand, Time and CNN observe the party as remaining centrist, positioning itself as a stark contrast to both the KMT and the DPP.
Ko received 26.46% of the popular vote in the presidential election, placing in third place. The TPP won eight at-large legislative seats, gaining three seats in total. It was the TPP's greatest electoral result since its inception, preventing both the KMT and the DPP from obtaining a legislative majority.

Resignation of Ko Wen-je

In September 2024, Ko was detained on allegations of corruption during his time as mayor of Taipei and misreporting campaign finances during the 2024 presidential election. He was indicted in December 2024. He handed in his resignation the same month, and he was replaced by Huang Kuo-chang on 1 January 2025.

Policy

The policy from the TPP mainly manifests itself in its anti-establishment view and pushing their economic agenda which mainly attacks the DPP and KMT about low wages, unemployment, and the cost of living. In China, the TPP professes to be neutral and pro-status quo.
Their core values include:

Symbols and organisation

The party charter states that the party's formal abbreviated name in Chinese is p=Mínzhòngdǎng. 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.
In 2023, the Taiwan New Homeland Think Tank Association was established as a TPP-affiliated think tank.
While public opinion of Ko suffered due to corruption investigations, the TPP as a whole experienced only a minor decline in support in September 2024.

Chairmanship

A list of chairpersons since 2019.
PortraitChairpersonTook officeLeft office
Ko Wen-je6 August 20191 January 2025
Huang Kuo-chang1 January 2025Incumbent

; Notes

Notable members