Blue-White Alliance Falters in Zhubei as Ko Wen-je Asks Who to Negotiate With

Ko Wen-je’s question was blunt: if the blue-white alliance cannot settle its dispute in Zhubei, who exactly should the Taiwan People’s Party negotiate with in the Kuomintang?

The former Taiwan People’s Party chairman made the comment during a campaign visit to Tainan, where he accompanied four party-backed city council candidates and one neighborhood chief candidate during their joint registration and rally. He used the appearance to call for a stronger “third force” in southern Taiwan.

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It makes people wonder: who exactly are we supposed to negotiate with in the Kuomintang?

Ko said recent Kuomintang comments gave the impression that party figures were washing their hands of the issue. He cited Kuomintang chairwoman Cheng Li-wen’s call for the parties to confront the election with a broader strategy, while saying she could not resolve the dispute. By contrast, Ko praised Huang Kuo-chang for keeping his word and not fielding a candidate.

He said the Zhubei dispute would not determine the national election because it was only “the tip of the iceberg,” but added that it should never have happened. Ko said he had previously asked Cheng and Huang to discuss how to deal with the situation.

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This should not have happened.

The Taiwan People’s Party has nominated candidates in five Tainan races, including districts covering Xinying, Yongkang, North and Central West districts, and South District and Anping. Ko said the party currently held only one council seat south of the Zhuoshui River and needed support to establish itself in the region. He also said Tainan’s Kuomintang mayoral candidate Hsieh Lung-chieh was needed to campaign for the party’s local candidates.

Ko further called for clarity over whether mainland Chinese spouses have the right to participate in politics, in response to former party legislator Lee Chen-hsiu’s Zhubei mayoral bid. He said he no longer had contact with former party central committee member Chen Ya-lin, who was sentenced to eight years for corruption and was reportedly wanted by the court.

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The beginning is difficult.