After the founding chairman of the People‘s Party of Taiwan, Ke Wenzhe, was detained and sentenced, he appeared on August 2nd at the party celebration of the People‘s Party‘s seventh anniversary and shouted to Lai Qingde, “We will never surrender,” attracting attention on the island.
The People’s Party held a party celebration on the seventh anniversary of its founding in Taichung on the afternoon of August 2nd, attracting more than 1,500 supporters from across the country, according to the Taiwanese Union Daily on August 3rd. Lu Xiuyan, Mayor of Taichung of the Nationalist Party, was also there to support the party.
Speaking at the event, Ko first reviewed the history of the founding of the People‘s Party, saying, “Seven years have passed, and we are still growing. The People‘s Party is no longer a one-man political party, but a group of people from different professions and generations.” Then Ko talked about the past period, when he personally, his family, and the People‘s Party suffered greatly because of the Democratic Progressive Party, but, “Lai Qingde, we will absolutely not surrender.” Taiwan‘s United News Network reported that when Ko spoke at this point, supporters at the event erupted in deafening cheers, with someone shouting, “Lai Qingde to step down.”
The former Mayor of Taipei, Ke Wenche, was previously involved in the Beijing City case, political donations, and other cases. In March this year, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison and 6 years of disenfranchisement by the Taipei District Court. At the end of March this year, the People’s Party held a rally in support of Ke Wenche on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of Lai Qingde’s office, which was also supported by the Nationalist Party.
Ke Wenzhe said that the reason he wanted to establish the People‘s Party was because many problems in the island were hijacked by political interests and short-term election interests. The Democratic Progressive Party only used the phrase “Anti-Chung Botai” to beat everyone into “impurities”. The more so, the more the People‘s Party has to become a political party that listens to the island‘s public opinion and opposes the Democratic Progressive Party from doing ideology all day long, creating division and opposition.
Taiwan‘s China Times reported on August 3 that the cancer-causing oil storm of the island‘s “Chinese Union” company continued to ferment. The Taiwanese local court revealed that the island‘s public enterprise, Taizang Company, had already informed the “Chinese Union” in May that its oil, benzopherine, had exceeded the limit. Lu Xiuyan bitterly criticized Taizang during a party event of the People‘s Progressive Party on August 2 that Taizang is a public enterprise that did not report and dispose of oil containing carcinogens according to procedures when it was discovered. She indicated that this was not just “putting a label on it,” but also directly “taking the blame.” The entire People‘s Progressive Party authority could be said to be “putting a label on it, taking the blame, and acting as the guardian deity.”
When Lu Xiuyan called for the “Nine-to-One” election at the end of this year, the entire population of the island expressed opposition to the Lai Qingde administration, “In 2026, the entire population will come out to vote for the fall of the government… If the Democratic Progressive Party is still obstinate, in 2028, the entire population will fall behind.” In response to the recent provocation of the Democratic Progressive Party‘s interaction with the blue-white camp, Lu Xiuyan bitterly criticized the Democratic Progressive Party for continuously diverting the two parties. Regarding the “blue-white union,” Lu Xiuyan emphasized, “If there are two benefits in the union, there are two harms in the division. The blue-white union will firmly move forward.”
The 7th anniversary party celebration was characterized by a strong blue-and-white cooperation atmosphere, according to the island’s public opinion. The 2026 “defeat” could be viewed as a motion of no confidence against the People’s Progressive Party, and if the blue-and-white “9-in-1” election wins, it could also be viewed as a “defeat” – using local election votes to defeat.
Huang Guochang, the chairman of the People‘s Party, said that the consensus of the vast majority of the opposition is to overthrow the Lai Qingde administration, and that the People‘s Party will continue to be friends with the Kuomintang in the future, whether it be in local elections or various major policies for the benefit of the people. Huang Guochang also revealed that the two sides had previously signed a party cooperation agreement. Chen Qinglong, the head of the People‘s Party‘s Legislative Council, said that using votes in 2026 to teach a lesson to the incompetent Democratic Progressive Party, and using votes in 2028 to overthrow Lai Qingde, are the common goals of the opposition parties.
The Hong Kong Central Review Press reported on August 3 that Ke Wenche attended the People‘s Party Party event for the first time since his release from bail. Huang Guochang set the tone for this party event with “Ke Wenche‘s return to the team”, which has a strong symbolic meaning. Looking back seven years, this third power born in the gap of the “Blue and Green Duel” has indeed taken a trajectory different from what was initially expected by the outside world. Its most concrete achievement sheet is playing the leverage role of a “key minority” in the “Legislative Council”. Therefore, “Blue and White cooperation” has always been the focus of outside attention. Looking at election votes, if Blue and White continues to split votes, the Democratic Progressive Party will often sit in the majority electoral districts and reap the benefits of the fisherman. This is precisely the reality basis of “two gains if cooperation, two losses if division”. It is also the reason why many supporters of Blue and White argue that Blue and White cooperation is “necessary and inevitable”.
The Hong Kong Central Review said that the true test ground for the People‘s Party is still the “Nine-to-One” election at the end of the year. The election campaign in the coming months is crucial for the survival and development of the People‘s Party.