Will the Taiwan People's Party's Ko Wen-je Step Down?

TaiwanPlus News

The party that was meant to disrupt Taiwan's two-party system is grappling with a host of scandals that could see its abrupt end. Speculation is mounting that its founder and chairman Ko Wen-je could be stepping down.

Transcript

00:00Starting off with the headlines, speculation is mounting that Ke Wenzhe, the charismatic

00:05head of the Taiwan People's Party, could announce he's stepping down.

00:09The TPP is grappling with a host of scandals, including financial irregularities.

00:15Louise Watt is following developments for us from Taipei.

00:18Louise, how significant is Ke and his party in Taiwan's politics?

00:26Getting less significant by the day.

00:29Lesley, there's a feeling that these scandals are the beginning of the end for the Taiwan

00:33People's Party, the third party in Taiwanese politics.

00:38Outside his home this morning, Ke was asked by journalists, did you sleep well?

00:43He said he did, and that he'll be holding a press conference at 3pm this afternoon to

00:48explain things.

00:50Now, the Taiwan People's Party is only five years old, but Ke's political story goes back

00:57further than that.

00:58He's the charismatic former mayor of Taipei, and he built and shaped the TPP in his own

01:07image.

01:08And in fact, in a sense, he wanted to rise above politics.

01:12He wanted to disrupt the two-party divide that's characterized politics in Taiwan for

01:18a generation.

01:20He said, for example, that he wasn't going to be pro or anti-Beijing.

01:25And in fact, he was the only political leader that both Beijing and Washington would have

01:30no problem with.

01:32Now, whether that's true or not, we don't know, because he lost the presidential elections

01:36in January.

01:37But he and his party did attract a lot of votes from young people who were upset with

01:44the establishment.

01:46And like many populist politicians in other countries, Ke has a way of speaking that's

01:53very direct.

01:54He doesn't sound like a politician.

01:56But on the other side, he's also quite often inconsistent.

02:01He's gaffe-prone.

02:02And he's also made several comments criticized as misogynistic.

02:07So despite that, though, the TPP won enough seats in the legislature in January to hold

02:14the balance of power.

02:16So they looked set to be a key political force for at least the next four years.

02:22Now, that's all looking a lot less certain.

02:26So we'll hear from Ke in about an hour's time whether he's going to step down, whether he

02:32thinks his party can go on, or whether we should expect to return to the two-party model

02:39of politics that's dominated in Taiwan for so long.

Category

Transcript

Recommended