Joint KMT-TPP Ticket Still Under Discussion
Taiwan's two main opposition parties, the Kuomintang and Taiwan's People Party, have not come to an agreement about forming an official coalition for January's presidential and legislative elections. They agreed on a number of goals, including winning a majority in the legislature and cooperating on maintaining peaceful dialogue with China.
Transcript
00:00 After weeks of back and forth, Taiwan's two main opposition parties are still unable to
00:05 come to an agreement on forming a coalition in a bid to unseat the ruling Democratic Progressive
00:11 Party, or DPP, in next year's presidential elections in January.
00:17 Eric Chu, the chair of the Kuomintang, or KMT, sat down with Ke Wende, the presidential
00:22 candidate and chair of the Taiwan People's Party, or TPP.
00:27 And the two sides discussed for just over an hour what forming such an opposition coalition
00:33 might look like.
00:34 Here's what they had to say.
00:36 "If we want to work together, then of course, whether it's the KMT or the TPP, we respect
00:42 the KMT's opinion.
00:43 For me, if you have a fair and acceptable way to do it, then that's fine."
00:49 They agreed on a number of areas they would cooperate, including working together to win
00:55 the most seats in the legislature and pursuing closer, more peaceful ties with China.
01:02 But there was no conclusion on perhaps the most crucial question of who would be on the
01:08 presidential ticket in any opposition coalition.
01:11 "We will all work hard to achieve the great things that the Congress wants.
01:16 Some time ago, it took a while, and many people were impatient, even angry.
01:22 We all said, 'Sorry, I already said it yesterday, we will work hard to do our best.'"
01:27 Now as I say, these talks have been going on for weeks now, and with less than 100 days
01:32 until voters go to the ballot box to choose their next leader, Lai Ching-de, the DPP's
01:40 presidential candidate and the current vice president of Taiwan, is still leading in public
01:44 opinion polls.
01:45 And with the KMT and the TPP unable to reach an agreement on forming a coalition, this
01:51 may jeopardize their chances of gaining power.
01:55 Alex Chen and Sally Jensen in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.
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