Lawmaker Fong Ting-kuo (馮定國) has declared that he will join the People First Party (PFP) before the party's registration deadline for the year-end elections, as well as seek nomination by the PFP in that election. Fong said he had to sacrifice his love for the New Party for greater and more important causes. In addition, Fong said his supporters feel that if he is to fight for their interests in the parliament, his only choice is to join the PFP which holds similar ideologies to his.
However, the New Party's elders seem unable to accept Fong's defection. The Fong incident has apparently ignited a premature battle among political parties. As the parties get closer to completing nominations for the year-end elections, more and more politicians will be defecting from weaker parties to stronger ones.
The reason behind Fong's decision is none other than his hope to enjoy an election victory. Taichung County has 11 seats in the Legislative Yuan. Among them, the DPP could win two. Besides a possible seat for Fong, all other ones belong to the KMT's local factions.
In the presidential election, PFP chairman James Soong (
If we further take into consideration the small number of at-large district seats (the number of seats given to each party is calculated according to the percentage of total votes it receives in the election) the PFP is likely to enjoy, it's not surprising Fong decided to leave the New Party.
The rise of the New Party began in the 1994 Taipei mayoral election. By the 1996 legislative elections, it had garnered 12.95 percent of the total vote, and 21 seats. However, by the following legislative poll, its percentage of votes had declined to 7.06.
Although the total number of seats in the Legislative Yuan had increased by 60, the New Party won only 7 seats despite 36 nominations, making their success rate less than 2 percent. In comparison with the DPP's success rate of 67 percent and the KMT's 84 percent, it was obvious the New Party was no longer competitive.
In last year's presidential election, Soong won approximately 4,660,000 votes, constituting 36 percent of the votes cast. It is not far off to say that in the absence of the so-called "dumping effect" (棄保效應) under which many voters "dumped" the KMT's Lien Chan (連戰) to save Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and therefore prevent Soong from winning, Soong could have won.
In order to grow, the PFP has to recruit from the existing supporters of other political parties. As a result, the KMT will likely suffer some injuries, while the New Party will likely lose its elbow room.
While Soong may have won a large percentage of votes in the presidential election, the PFP does not appear to target the same number of votes for the upcoming legislative election.
Apart from the uncertainty over the transferability of votes for Soong, winning a percentage of votes does not guarantee a great number of seats for a party in Taiwan's multi-seat voting districts. Having a superstar candidate may simply suck up the votes of other candidates.
The PFP must be particularly cautious with its first elections. Therefore, recruiting from other parties and inviting the incumbent lawmakers of other parties is necessary for PFP election success.
Furthermore, the New Party and the PFP are similar in many respects. During the presidential election, the entire New Party campaigned for Soong. New Party Chairman Lee Ching-hua (
Why can't New Party lawmakers join the PFP to ensure an election win now? It is inevitable that the New Party will merge with the PFP. Similarly, the Taiwan Independence Party had virtually no elbow room under the shadow of the DPP. The marginalization of the New Party has been caused by no less cruel political realities.
People care a lot about politicians' party loyalty and the splits and mergers of parties. Therefore, the defection of one party's elders to another party before elections is often seen as interest- and election-motivated. However, in a genuine democracy, people should get used to the restructuring of ideologies and interests among parties.
After the upcoming election, none of the three major parties, the DPP, KMT and PFP will have a legislative majority. Under the circumstances, the intricate web of alliances formed between parties to ensure leadership of the parliament will probably be quite astonishing. Unless personal feelings for ideologies are left behind, we will find it hard to adjust to future inter-party cooperation and new political developments.
Lee Ching-hsiung is a Taiwan Independence Party lawmaker.
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
The recent passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known to many as “Big S,” due to influenza-induced pneumonia at just 48 years old is a devastating reminder that the flu is not just a seasonal nuisance — it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. Hsu, a beloved actress and cultural icon who shaped the memories of many growing up in Taiwan, should not have died from a preventable disease. Yet her death is part of a larger trend that Taiwan has ignored for too long — our collective underestimation of the flu and our low uptake of the
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic
RSS