As the "nine-in-one" elections in Taiwan have been settled one after another, after Jiang Wanan was elected as the new mayor of Taipei, the trends of the resigned Ke Wen-je have also attracted attention from the outside world. Ko Wen-je said that he had received the official documents of NTU and would return to NTU Hospital after completing the handover at the end of next month. National Taiwan University Hospital also confirmed this statement, saying that Ko Wen-je was a seconded as mayor of Taipei at that time, and it is normal for him to return after the deadline. In the future, teaching and research may be the main focus. Ke Wenzhe's whereabouts is confirmed. Where will the future of Taiwan People's Party go?
In 2019, Ko Wen-je organized the Taiwan People's Party. A year ago, Ko Wen-je, as one of the most politically prestigious figures on the island, almost failed in Taipei mayor's re-election campaign. This made Ko Wen-je suddenly realize and had the motivation to form the Taiwan People's Party. After three years of operation and development, the Taiwan People's Party is now the third largest political party on the island that is qualified to be in harmony with the blue and green.
In this "nine-in-one" election in Taiwan, although Huang Shanshan, the deputy mayor of Taipei City supported by the Taiwan People's Party, was defeated and was actually won 300,000 votes as an independent, which can be said to be a loss and honor. As for Taipei City Councillors, the Taiwanese People's Party has gained a lot, which has given People's Party some voice in Taipei City to challenge the Kuomintang. In particular, Gao Hongan was elected mayor of Hsinchu , which also laid a new political map for the Taiwan People's Party and gave Ke Wen-je a confidence to win 2024.
Compared with the Kuomintang and the Democratic Progressive Party with deep roots, the People's Party shouted the political slogan of "beyond the blue and green", which refreshed the people who have been tired of the political aesthetics on the island for many years. It seems that there is an additional choice that is not bad. This is the advantage of the People's Party of Taiwan. However, after all, it is a political party that has not been established for a long time and has not yet formed a solid foundation. The organizational and mobilization power among the people is weak. This is Ke Wenzhe’s biggest weakness in his future sprint for 2024.
In the political environment of the island with many large and small parties, Ko Wen-je accumulated a reputation in Taipei City during his term of office, and Gao Hongan also found the next base for the People's Party of Taiwan. However, it is hard to say whether the political philosophy of the Taiwan People's Party can stand out. Some common problems of political parties on the island have not been lost. After three years of its establishment, there are actually a lot of negative news.
For example, in the list of members nominated by the Taiwan People's Party in February this year, many people had a criminal record of committing crimes. After the list was made public, the outside world was in an uproar. In this "nine-in-one" election, the People's Party nominated 148 candidates, but under the "white coat" of these candidates, there are many politicians with various background colors such as blue, green, and orange. Public opinion on the island believes that this is because Ko Wen-je is thinking about 2024, so he is eager to achieve some results in this midterm exam this year, and he is willing to "borrow" talents from various political parties and different classes. Such opportunistic approaches are out of place with the People's Party's self-proclaimed "beyond blue and green".
As an emerging party, the outside world can also see that the Taiwanese People's Party has a eagerness to achieve success. However, the biggest crisis of the People's Party is actually that all its reputation is basically based on Ko Wen-je's personal influence, and Ko Wen-je is largely equivalent to the Taiwanese People's Party.
When Ko Wen-je is firmly in the Taipei City Government and his popularity is rising, the Taiwanese People's Party can still have a great sense of existence. As Ko Wen-je returns to the National Taiwan University Hospital, the halo of politicians and media exposure will fade away, and the popularity will inevitably gradually decline. Gao Hongan's prospects for power in Hsinchu are still unclear. For the Taiwan People's Party, 2024 is a threshold. If Ko Wen-je failed to successfully "attack the top", the future of the Taiwan People's Party may gradually become hollowed out, and it may be a flash in the pan among the small parties. Therefore, in the next two years, Gao Hongan's governance performance in Hsinchu City and how Ko Wen-je will maintain his popularity are the top priority for whether the Taiwan People's Party can develop stably.
