Taipei, Oct. 24 (CNA) Taiwan’s opposition Kuomintang (KMT) announced Thursday that it would enter into “party-to-party negotiations” with the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) over possible collaboration for the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections, after deciding there is no longer enough time to hold polls or a primary to decide on a joint presidential candidate.
The two opposition parties have been at loggerheads over how to evaluate the “strongest” presidential candidate to run against Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential nominee, who is leading in the polls.
With less than 80 days remaining until the presidential election, Lai’s support ranges from 26.5-42.6 percent according to Taiwan’s major pollsters, though some polls indicate his lead has fallen slightly. TPP presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) remains in second place, leading the KMT’s Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) with tycoon Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent, in last place.
This indicates cooperation between Ko and Hou could be crucial if the DPP is to be defeated.
Asked Thursday to comment on the standoff between the KMT and TPP, Hou said with the Nov. 24 deadline for presidential candidate registration looming, neither conducting polls, as proposed by the TPP, nor a primary, as the KMT has insisted on, can now be completed in time.
As such, “party-to-party negotiations” are the only viable solution, Hou said, adding that the idea of forming a “governing coalition” proposed by Ko is a non-starter if the two parties do not work together for the elections.
Asked whether there was still a chance the two parties could opt for polls or a primary, Hou answered in the negative, adding that he was “absolutely positive” that the two sides were poised to begin party-to-party talks.
A KMT source, who asked not to be identified, told CNA that the party has no preconditions for party-to-party negotiations and is open to discussing collaboration in the presidential and legislative elections.
The idea of holding “party-to-party negotiations” to discuss the two parties collaborating for the Jan. 13 elections and a governing coalition was first proposed by Ko during a meeting with KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) earlier this month
Later in the day, Ko was asked by reporters to respond to the stalemate over the proposed presidential electoral pact, but the TPP chairman said there are many ways political parties can collaborate that are not limited to the presidential election, including the legislative election and pushing bills through the legislature.
Ko also cited a meeting with former legislative speaker Wang Jyn-ping (王金平) on Wednesday, during which Wang suggested he “put yourself in others’ shoes” when it comes to forging a possible KMT-TPP joint presidential ticket.
While still critical of the KMT’s proposed primary and half-polls, half primary approaches as “unfair,” Ko said he would not insist on a specific course of action, adding that he would agree to hold party-to-party negotiations “since Hou is so persistent.”
Asked whether he would still agree to initiate party-to-party talks if neither a Hou-Ko ticket nor a Ko-Hou ticket were the best combination to defeat Lai, Ko said had the parties agreed to use polls the answer would have been clear immediately, but “in real-world scenarios, you can’t always rely on science” and sometimes have to give way to collective wisdom.
Any forthcoming KMT-TPP negotiations should include Hou, Chu and himself, Ko added.
Oct. 24: Ko slams Hou’s urgent call for joint ticket ‘forced marriage’
Oct. 24: KMT’s Hou offers flexibility on joint ticket to challenge ruling party
Oct. 21: TPP’s Ko to communicate with KMT’s Hou on consultative committee
