Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je stokes speculation of Taiwan presidential run with plan to launch new party
- Ko’s aides say the mayor’s political consultant submitted a notice to the Ministry of the Interior to establish the ‘Taiwanese People’s Party’
- Mayor sidesteps questions when asked if he planned to enter the presidential race
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je is preparing to launch a new political party ahead of crucial presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan next year, fuelling speculation that the independent politician will enter the presidential race.
Ko’s aides told Taiwanese media that the mayor’s political consultant submitted a notice to the Ministry of the Interior to establish the “Taiwanese People’s Party”.
The new political group would take its name from a dissolved party founded in 1927 by the anti-Japanese resistance leader Chiang Wei-shui, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported on Wednesday evening.
Ke Yu-an, Taipei’s deputy spokesman, said Ko would explain his plan on Thursday. A launch conference for the new political party has been set for Tuesday – a date picked to coincide with both Ko’s and Chiang’s birthday.
Ko is considered a wild card in Taiwan’s 2020 presidential election, which will be watched closely by both Beijing and Washington as the strategic rivalry between the two major powers intensifies.