KMT-TPP Alliance：Rational Opportunities and Emotional Concerns
United Daily News Commentary, October 15, 2023
The Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) reached a partial consensus on a possible alliance in a closed-door meeting that lasted for three and a half hours on October 14. However, there was no agreement on how to choose the strongest presidential candidate to represent the opposition. The TPP advocates a series of comparative-style public opinion polls, while the KMT proposes an open and democratic primary system. For the majority of voters who are wholeheartedly hoping to remove the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) from power, this meeting has not only opened up expectations and opportunities but also brought along concerns for the proposed KMT-TPP alliance.
In terms of opportunity, there are only three months left until the 2024 presidential election. However, as long as the KMT and TPP are willing to sit down and genuinely discuss details of cooperation, there is absolutely enough time, regardless of what and how things are discussed. It is feared that both parties insist on their stances, refuse to compromise, and even attack each other in backroom conversations.
At least, both parties agreed on cooperation to maximize their seats in the Legislative Yuan in the pre-meeting on October 14. They also agreed that their parliamentary caucuses will collaborate on issues in the future, and if they win the election, they will form a coalition government with a focus on recruiting professional talents and respecting the characteristics of the parties.
These points of consensus seem like hackneyed rhetoric, but from a political science perspective, especially drawing from the experiences of some democratic countries in Europe, they might be opening a window of opportunity for a coalition cabinet that has never appeared in Taiwan. If the KMT and TPP can further negotiate important policies and jointly select the best executors in the future coalition government, then it will serve epochal significance. Only through such processes can the people rationally discern why they should vote in favor of the KMT-TPP alliance, rather than falling into a narrow thinking of voting simply for the person most suitable for the role.
Currently, media and public attention focus on how to "select the strongest candidate representing the opposition." Both the KMT and TPP, while agreeing on holding three debates, harbor different opinions when it comes to using polls or conducting a democratic primary. It is the most serious and invisible worry for the KMT-TPP alliance to figure out the so-called fairest rules to address the perceptual problem of "who is better."
After all, harking back to the history of alliance and division between Lien Chan and James Soong within the KMT in the early 2000s, if there is a genuine intention to collaborate between the KMT and TPP, then only a minute’s thought by “key figures” is enough to assure the realization of the alliance. It is unnecessary for technical discussions for a showdown. If there is no intention to collaborate, whether it is through polling, the primary system, or even the rules and details of debates, and weighting ratios, then there can be numerous reasons to find faults or refuse to negotiate with the other party. Needless to mention the unpredictable irrational attacks from both sides' supporters or even provocation from the DPP.
A message to the KMT and TPP: The true meaning of the alliance between the two parties lies in seeking a political system that contributes to the stability of the nation and can effectively address the dangerous situation in the Taiwan Strait, rather than determining who is stronger or weaker. If both parties fail to recognize the genuine situation, even if they devise a fair way to identify the "strongest candidate," then the alliance is seemingly in harmony but at variance, providing no help in winning the election nor benefiting Taiwan's future.