Taipei, Oct. 29 (CNA) The campaign director for Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Sunday accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of employing “double standards” over its opposition to the TPP’s planned selection of China-born legislative candidates.
In a social media post, Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) said that the DPP was hypocritical for criticizing the candidacy of Taiwan New Residents Development Association Chairperson Xu Chunying (徐春鶯). She noted that the DPP appointed ex-Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member Ning Jiarong (寧家榮) to an internal party committee several years ago.
Arguing that the ruling party should show consistency on the issue, Huang called on the DPP to “refrain from employing double standards.”
The TPP has come under fire for its rumored selection of Xu, the wife of a Taiwanese national and an advocate for foreign-born spouses, for a party-list elected legislator-at-large seat.
The TPP has yet to confirm or deny Xu’s selection, first reported by Mirror Media on Oct. 26, with Ko stating on Sunday that she was merely “under consideration” for a spot on the party list.
While Xu has denied claims made by DPP presidential nominee Lai Ching-te (賴清德) that she was previously a member of the CCP, she did admit to holding a party-supervised cadre position in Shanghai prior to moving to Taiwan in 1993.
Lai, the incumbent vice president, told a campaign event in Hsinchu on Sunday that the people of Taiwan “would not accept” Xu being given access to confidential foreign affairs and national defense documents.
Lai also dismissed the comparisons made between the TPP’s selection of Xu and the appointment of Ning to the DPP’s new residents committee, saying that the two cases were “completely different.”
Addressing the issue at a press event the same day, Ko told reporters that Xu would be asked to not sit on politically sensitive committees related to foreign affairs and national defense if elected as a TPP legislator.
Taiwanese voters will on Jan. 13, 2024 cast their ballots to elect the president and vice president, along with 113 members of the Legislative Yuan.
This includes a total of 34 legislator-at-large seats, which are allocated to legislators selected from a party list rather than a constituency.
Presidential, vice presidential and legislative candidates are required to register from Nov. 20-24, according to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission.
