TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Kuomintang (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je affirmed on Monday their shared goals and plans for collaboration on legislative seats.
The long-awaited meeting between the heads of the KMT and TPP covered three key topics: the establishment of a coalition between the two parties, maximizing their legislative seats, and identifying the strongest candidates to challenge the Democratic Progressive Party's eight-year rule.
Chu and Ko emphasized the need for a third wave of democratic reform in Taiwan to prevent one-party rule and the emergence of a "winner-takes-all" democratic dictatorship. Chu pledged to form a coalition government if the KMT gains a majority in the legislature.
The two leaders reached a consensus on restoring stability and peace across the Taiwan Strait. They committed to policies grounded in the Constitution of the Republic of China and the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area.
Both also committed to working toward sustainable environmental and energy policies, national security, and public health. They agreed that the functions of the legislature could be improved and proposed that the president should regularly report on the state of the nation to the Legislative Yuan and consider input from various party groups. Additionally, they support lowering the voting age to 18.
As for the highly anticipated final decision on presidential candidates, Chu said he would facilitate discussions as soon as possible and develop a new method for confirming the candidacy.
When questioned about whether Ko would provide legislative endorsements for the KMT, Chu said that discussions would occur after the confirmation of the presidential candidate.