Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) will communicate with rival candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) from the Kuomintang (KMT) on a proposed cross-party consultative committee before Oct. 26, according to Ko’s office.
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Ko said that he would hold a news conference on Oct. 26 to detail the party consultative committee.
According to the TPP, the purpose of the committee is to discuss with the KMT how to allocate government posts if the opposition camp wins the presidential election to oust the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Ko’s spokesperson, Vicky Chen (陳智菡), said the TPP’s presidential candidate will talk to Hou and KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) for the planned consultative committee before Oct. 26 to hammer out a cross-party stance.
Chen did not disclose if Ko, Hou and Chu will meet in person.
The TPP and KMT remained deadlocked over the formation of a joint ticket, despite recent polls showing that a failure to form one will hand almost certain victory to DPP candidate Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the incumbent vice president, in Taiwan’s Jan. 13, 2024 presidential election.
An initial meeting on Oct. 14 failed to produce a consensus, and the TPP and the KMT are currently at an impasse over whether to use polling or a primary election to decide the joint ticket’s billing.
In a bid to resolve the stalemate, Chen said the proposed cross-party consultative committee will aim to assuage fears among KMT members as the TPP will not take away the entire government if the opposition camp wins the presidential election.
In addition, Chen said the TPP will not demand legislative seats as a concession in talks on a joint opposition bid for president.
Indeed, Chen said Ko had expressed a willingness to campaign on behalf of KMT legislative candidates, without clarifying whether he would do so in constituencies where the TPP was also running.
However, further talks are unlikely to be arranged after Oct. 26 if the KMT and Hou continue to insist on a primary instead of polling to select a presidential candidate, Chen added.
The TPP has suggested that any polls also include independent candidate Terry Gou (郭台銘), the billionaire founder of Taiwanese manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., who is attempting to make the presidential ballot via an ongoing petition drive.
Earlier this week, Ko, the TPP chairman, said his party and KMT do not have to collaborate for the presidential election but could instead focus on the legislative election and pushing bills through the Legislature.
Ko said he had met with Hou and Chu recently but emphasized both parties have their own aims and should work hard on their own, while the TPP chairman cited a recent poll as saying about 65 percent of the respondents want to see the DPP step down so the TPP-KMT cooperation is likely to raise the chances of ousting the DPP.
Ko, the former Taipei mayor, said the KMT is a larger political party than the TPP, the former is expected to take the majority of the new government if the DPP loses.
For his part, Gou said he has met with Ko, exchanging political views with the TPP’s candidate. Gou said he will work with the TPP to win as many seats as possible in the Legislative Yuan.
Ko said he and Gou had regular talks as the tycoon has lent strong support to the Taipei City government in transforming the city government digitally. Ko praised Gou as one of the important figures in Taiwan.
