TPP Avoids Acting Chairman Issue: Trust in Ko or Attachment to Idol？
United Daily News Editorial, September 6, 2024
Chairman Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), implicated in the Living Mall case, is currently detained and barred from meeting visitors by the Taipei District Court. The party held an expanded meeting on September 6 to discuss the party's future and decided not to select an acting chairman at this time. Regardless of how the case develops, Ko's credibility has been severely impacted by such issues as political donations and the five major cases during his tenure as Taipei mayor. The TPP continues to avoid the issue of succession: Is it because the party trusts Ko or because it cannot do without him?
"Politics isn’t hard; it’s just about finding your conscience." This phrase, often repeated by Ko, resonated with many voters disillusioned by Taiwan’s bipartisan politics and contributed to Ko's political legend. In 2018, Ko overcame the blue-green stranglehold to secure re-election as Taipei mayor, establishing himself as a third force. He then founded the TPP, which surged to become the third largest party in the 2020 legislative elections. In 2024, buoyed by Ko's presidential campaign, the TPP increased its legislative seats to 8, solidifying its role as a crucial third force in a legislature where neither the blue nor the green camp holds a majority.
Despite the TPP’s maintaining its legislative seats for two consecutive terms, it has yet to cultivate a standout successor for its future. Initially, when Kao Hung-an was elected as Hsinchu mayor in 2022, she represented the TPP locally and secured Ko’s hometown. With her youth, high education, clear thinking, and articulate speech, she appeared to have strong political potential. However, Kao, coming from Foxconn founder Terry Gou’s faction, was originally a franchisee and now faces legal troubles over alleged embezzlement of legislative assistant fees, leading to her suspension. This may signal an end to her political career.
Legislators Huang Kuo-chang and Huang Shan-shan, current leaders of the TPP caucus of the Legislative Yuan, come from the New Power Party (NPP) and People First Party, respectively. They are not figures nurtured by the TPP. Both have garnered significantly more attention than other party members despite not coming from the traditional blue camp. This has raised concerns among many founding members of the TPP that Huang Kuo-chang might steer the party towards a more NPP-like direction, potentially undermining its core principles. Meanwhile, Huang Shan-shan has faced criticism for allegedly being Ko’s pawn, forming factions within the party, and recently becoming a target in the political donation scandal, with her ability to continue serving as a legislator also under scrutiny.
This situation highlights that, despite the TPP’s significant role in Taiwan politics over the past five years, it remains largely a one-man party centered around Ko. The party still lacks a stable successor who can effectively lead both internally and externally. Since Ko took a three-month leave for an investigation into political donations and now faces detention due to the Jinghua City case, the TPP has only established a central emergency response team to handle emerging issues. They have maintained that there will be no acting chairman at this stage.
In the extended meeting, the TPP resolved to mobilize nationwide support to fight for judicial justice against what they perceive as political manipulation. They will protest alleged judicial abuse, framing Ko’s detention as politically motivated persecution. However, evidence already exposed suggests that the increase in building volume at Living Mall case cannot be simply dismissed with Ko’s claim of "not knowing." Even without evidence of corruption, the issue of favoritism is difficult to clarify. The party's emergency response has failed to address these concerns directly, instead redirecting the focus to political prosecution. Their call for trust in Ko may be their strategy to avoid the pitfall of a one-man party falling apart.