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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Elections & Politics

Media Figure Accuses Ko Wen-je of Blackmail Over Mayoral Race

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • A media personality accused Ko Wen-je of blackmailing the KMT over the Zhubei mayoral race after integration talks failed.
  • The accuser claims Ko is leveraging other races in New Taipei, Yilan, and Changhua to pressure the KMT.
  • The dispute highlights the ongoing tensions and difficulties in forming a unified front between the KMT and the TPP.

Political tensions are escalating over the Zhubei mayoral election as integration talks between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) have reportedly collapsed. Media personality Wu Ching-yi has accused TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je of engaging in "veiled blackmail" against the KMT, suggesting Ko is using the party's potential gains in New Taipei, Yilan, and Changhua to force the KMT's hand in Zhubei.

The TPP not only opposes Lai, but also loves to play the rogue!

— Wu Ching-yiDescribing the TPP's political tactics.

Wu stated on Facebook that the TPP is not only resistant to opposing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) but also prone to "playing the rogue." She questioned Ko's integrity, given the breakdown in negotiations, and suggested that Ko's stance on New Taipei, Yilan, and Changhua could jeopardize the KMT's chances in those areas. Wu also raised questions about whether TPP legislator Huang Kuo-chang had discussed the Zhubei situation with KMT Chairwoman Cheng Li-wen and noted that Huang himself admitted no formal written agreement was reached regarding the Hsinchu County mayoral race.

Ko Wen-je is using New Taipei, Yilan, and Changhua to blackmail the KMT.

— Wu Ching-yiAccusing Ko Wen-je of leveraging other races for political gain.

The core of the dispute appears to be the Zhubei mayoral candidacy. Wu suggested that if TPP candidate Chiu Chen-yuan is polling in the single digits, as local sources claim, it would indicate a significant decline in TPP support even in Ko's strongholds. She argued that the TPP would rather create a "disgraceful scene" than accept an embarrassing electoral outcome.

Ko Wen-je can tear up the six-point agreement for the presidential election and announce his own candidacy.

— Wu Ching-yiCriticizing Ko Wen-je's past political actions.

Wu further asserted that the Zhubei mayoral race exposes the "great absurdity" of the KMT-TPP alliance, questioning whether it represents genuine democratic integration or a clandestine political division of spoils. She contrasted the situation in Zhubei with the integration processes in New Taipei, Yilan, and Chiayi City, where, according to Wu, polls were used, and the parties abided by the results. In Zhubei, however, Wu claims the TPP is employing emotional blackmail, demanding the KMT withdraw its candidate based on a supposed prior promise. Wu concluded by stating that Ko is now using the KMT's potential losses in other areas as leverage, threatening to "flip the table" if the KMT does not concede Zhubei, leading to a mutually destructive outcome.

The Zhubei mayoral race is exposing the greatest absurdity of the 'blue-white cooperation'. Is it democratic integration or private political division of spoils?

— Wu Ching-yiQuestioning the nature of the KMT-TPP alliance.
About this summary

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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