Gou and Ko's "Solemn Pledge" Marginalizes Hou
The Storm Media Editorial, June 1, 2023
Kinmen has become the focal point of Taiwan’s presidential election, with three participants William Lai, Ko Wen-je, and Terry Gou making their appearances. By presenting his "Kinmen Peace Declaration," Mr. Gou managed to appear in the same frame with Mr. Lai. What is more, Mr. Gou and Mr. Ko, hands interlocking, lifted the sacred sedan chair and admired the moon side by side, as if pledging love to each other. While Lai, Ko, and Gou interacted with each other in Kinmen, the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih remained in Taiwan alone.
The show put up by Mr. Ko and Mr. Gou in Kinmen indicates that, in the presidential election, Mr. Ko is not just a supporting role and that Mr. Gou is not out yet. What is sure is that both have exerted a blow on Hou. This shows that Mr. Ko is determined not only to lead his Taiwan People's Party (TPP) but also to demonstrate his confidence in winning the election.
When in Kinmen, Mr. Ko proposed that a Kinmen-Xiamen Bridge be built so that people on Kinmen can “go directly to the Xiamen Xiang’an International Airport” to go abroad.
This proposal is not a new one. When TPP’s party office in Kinmen was set up, Mr. Ko has already advocated that the bridge be built. At the time, the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) criticized this proposal, saying that this harbors a huge national security risk and called Ko's proposal "ignorant and absurd." DPP Legislator Lin Chun-hsien even bluntly said that the move will pave the way forinvasion by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
This time in Kinmen, Mr. Ko made the proposal again and retorted that should a war break out, a missile fired by Taiwan would easily cripple the bridge.
As a matter of fact, back in 2008, when President Ma Ying-jeou took office, his administration had already proposed that the said bridge be built. Many people looked upon Mr. Ma's proposal with high expectations. But to this day, the bridge has not been constructed yet. So even if Mr. Ko got elected, it does not mean that the bridge could be completed. Mr. Ko broached the subject again this time with a view to sending Beijing an olive branch and to gaining the support of the voters in Taiwan who are more friendly toward China.
To Mr. Ko, the 2024 Election is an "earn more lose less" business. Given that in the 2024 legislative elections, both the KMT and DPP might not win the majority, if Mr. Ko, by participating in the 2024 presidential election, can lead the TPP to win enough seats in the Legislative Yuan and make TPP the key third party, then he can wield enormous political power in Taiwan's politics.
At the beginning, Mr. Ko was ranked at the bottom in the public poll. But after Mr. Hou became the KMT's presidential candidate, Mr. Ko surpassed Hou in the polls. So, Mr. Ko's ambition is not only to lead his TPP to become the key third party in the Legislative Yuan, with his presidential campaign becoming more and more on point, he also wants to win the presidency.
The close interaction between Mr. Ko and Mr. Gou in Kinmen is meant to support each other. If Mr. Ko can lead by a large margin in the public poll while Mr. Hou is still warming up, Mr. Ko could become the chosen one by the non-DPP camp and pose a challenge to the DPP’s Lai.
Up to now, Mr. Hou only talked about public safety—his specialty. He refused to attend the discussion with students at National Taiwan University and has avoided commenting on cross-strait and foreign policies. If Hou keeps being conservative and remains at the warm-up stage, he will be marginalized in the coming presidential election.