Ko Wen-je is the leader of fledging Taiwan People’s Party
As the dust settles from the fiercely fought Taiwan presidential election won by William Lai, another unlikely winner has emerged.
On Saturday, more than a quarter of Taiwan’s voters, including many young people, chose maverick politician Ko Wen-je in the presidential poll.
And in the legislature elections, his fledgling Taiwan’s People Party (TPP) won eight seats which could wield power in a parliament where no-one has won the majority.
While the TPP’s gains are modest and Mr Ko himself came in last, observers say he has irrevocably altered Taiwan’s political landscape – long dominated by two parties, the Kuomintang (KMT) and Mr Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
“It’s now no longer a two horse race, it’s a three horse race,” said Wen-ti Sung, a political scientist and non-resident fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub.
Though Mr Ko, a former mayor of Taipei, is a seasoned politician, this was his first stab at the presidency.
He campaigned on a platform of “taking down the blue and green” – blue is the KMT’s colour and green is the DPP’s – while positioning himself as the middle option on issues such as cross-strait relations.
Since 2016 there have been other outlier parties that have made headway in polls.
But the TPP’s performance is the clearest sign yet of voters demanding a more pluralistic political landscape, say observers, and it is driven by passionate young Taiwanese.
Many youths were visibly upset at Saturday’s result, with some even alleging electoral fraud online.
Part of the attraction was Mr Ko himself, a straight-talking politician who could break out into the occasional rap. Young people found him quirky and endearing, though he has also been criticised for comments perceived as sexist and homophobic.
Young people are disgruntled with economic issues such as low wages and the lack of affordable housing
They have only ever known a Taiwan which has regularly alternated between the DPP and the KMT since 2000, although Mr Lai’s win has shattered this cycle.
“The era of the DPP and the KMT has been ended by a new party. It’s time for a younger generation to arise, and the TPP seems fresher to me,” Mr Huang, a 28-year-old soldier, told the BBC.
This demand for more alternatives “is not so high that it would shatter the political system, but it pushes the other parties to see how they can appeal to a broader electorate,” said Lev Nachman, a political scientist with the National Chengchi University.
But it also gives the TPP an advantage that could propel it further and turn it into “the second political power” in Taiwan, said Mr Sung. Mr Ko’s vote share was only seven percentage points lower than that of the KMT’s candidate Hou Yu-ih.
But that’s only if it plays its cards right.
“The TPP has strong support, but the question is can it be sustained?” said Ian Chong, a non-resident fellow with Carnegie China. “This would depend on how it strengthens its teams on the ground as well as its performance in the legislature and the values, policies and ideals it proposes.”
Currently the TPP’s support capitalises on voter unhappiness while leaning heavily on Mr Ko, he noted.
“Personalities are important for a social movement. But you also need to sustain it beyond that, and continually attract supporters with your ideas.”
“I think Ko after this has to cultivate the party more,” said TPP supporter Harrison Wu. “He also knows this is a one-man party, he has to develop successors – after all he is 64 years old already.”
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Some young people were seen sobbing at Mr Ko’s election night rally
On Saturday night after he conceded to Mr Lai, Mr Ko acknowledged the long road ahead while signalling he was here to stay.
“I’m asking you all to not give up, because I won’t give up, the TPP won’t give up,” he told his supporters, some of whom were sobbing. “Tonight, I know you are all very sad. But we actually don’t have time to be sad.
“If we diligently continue, in the next four years I believe we will win even more recognition, and gather even more power. Next time we will govern, and definitely win back this country.”
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
