Vice President William Lai (賴清德) along with his running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), won the presidential election, delivering the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a third term in office.
However, the green camp spearheaded by the DPP did not win a majority of legislative seats. The Legislative Yuan is to be dominated by three major parties. The DPP would have to collaborate with other political parties to advance its agenda, and this would be more promising if the green camp could collaborate with the white camp led by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
The green and white camps should work out a plan to jointly nominate a legislative speaker and deputy speaker. If the blue and the white camps end up forming an alliance, former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) might become legislative speaker — a disaster that should be avoided.
After the elections, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supporters flooded the Facebook page of TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), blaming him for the failure of the planned “blue-white alliance” that led to Lai and Hsiao’s victory.
Many of those who voted for KMT candidates held their noses while doing so. Deep in their hearts, they did not favor New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜). It is unsurprising that Hou lost the election. To add insult to injury, he might even face a recall vote in New Taipei City for his lack of integrity toward city residents.
Many retired soldiers, civil servants and teachers voted for Hou out of personal interest. However, for many others, such as those who have to work hard to make ends meet and cannot afford to retire early, voting for Hou meant little. This is the only reason Hou and his running mate, Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), could get more than 4 million votes.
In this sense, the white camp should be the one that the green camp works with. Only in doing so could Taiwan move toward a better future.
Teng Hon-yuan is a university professor.
Translated by Emma Liu
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