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Taiwan elections: could presidential divide upend KMT-TPP deal to team up against DPP?
- Decision on jointly contesting parliamentary polls comes as KMT chairman Eric Chu Li-luan and TPP leader Ko Wen-je meet on Monday for first-ever talks
- Without common ground on the presidential campaign, such a consensus risks remaining ‘empty talk’, observer in Taipei warns
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Lawrence Chungin Taipei
Taiwan’s opposition parties will contest next year’s legislative elections as a team to increase chances of victory as they push for the resumption of cross-strait exchanges.
The decision came after Eric Chu Li-luan, chairman of the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), and Ko Wen-je, leader of the smaller Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), met on Monday for their first-ever inter-party talks.
They discussed areas for possible cooperation, including cross-strait, security, environment and energy issues.
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The two leaders also agreed to join forces in the January 13 parliamentary polls in a bid to gain maximum seats against the ruling independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Taiwan will also choose a new president the same day, and DPP candidate Vice-President William Lai Ching-te has been the front runner for the post since being nominated in April.
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The KMT and TPP, however, have not been able to reach a consensus on their presidential campaign, prompting an observer in Taipei to wonder whether “pork barrel politics” might reduce their agreement to “empty talk”.
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