Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Friday said that planned “party-to-party negotiations” with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) over possible collaboration in January’s elections should involve would-be independent presidential candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘).
Gou — the founder of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer — should be invited to join the TPP-KMT party-to-party negotiations because of his economic prowess, Ko said at a campaign event centered on the possibility of forming an electoral coalition.
As polls showed that more than 65 percent of respondents want a change of power in the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections, opposition parties should “unite all forces possible” in their negotiations, the former Taipei mayor said.
Photo: CNA
In forming an alliance for next year’s election, the parties need to discuss the selecting of presidential and legislative candidates, joint policy platforms, and potential candidates for Cabinet positions, legislative speaker and deputy speaker, and legislative committee chairmanships, Ko said.
KMT’s presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the KMT and the TPP were to meet for the first round of negotiations on Friday, but it was postponed for unstated reasons.
Hou has urged Ko to work with the KMT on forming a coalition and discuss how to create a joint presidential ticket through negotiations.
The candidacy registration begins on Nov. 20, which is not enough time for either holding a primary or conducting polls to decide who should lead the ballot, he said.
Some opinion polls showed that voters favored Hou and Ko on a joint ticket over the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Vice President William Lai (賴清德) with Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), who is widely predicted to be picked as Lai’s running mate.
Several campaign officials from Hou’s and Ko’s camps sat down for the first time on Oct. 14 to explore a possible electoral pact, including a joint presidential ticket, but failed to reach an agreement on whether to determine who would be the presidential candidate through an open primary or public opinion polls.
The parties have agreed to continue talks for a collaboration as both sides agreed that their supporters want to see a unified opposition to remove the DPP from office.
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