This is the 46th issue of "Bay Area Lookout".
The countdown to the battle for the "dragon head" of Taiwan's legislature.
The election of the chairman and deputy head of Taiwan's legislature will be held on February 1. According to comprehensive Taiwan media news, the Chinese Kuomintang Han Kuo-yu, Jiang Qichen, You Xikun, and Cai Qichang respectively visited the People's Party caucus today (29th) to win support. It is observed that the People's Party, which holds the 8 seats of the "key minority", will show its cards as soon as tomorrow (30th) to decide the voting trend. Earlier this month, the People's Party chairman, Ko Wenzhe, asked the blue-green candidates to communicate with the People's Party caucus, stressing that the People's Party "has eight votes in and out, and those who run the votes will be expelled from the party." Taiwan's "China Times" published a commentary saying that it depends on whether the chairman of the People's Party, Ke Wenzhe, will fulfill the promise of "returning Taiwan to the people", or choose to "eat human flesh" with a knife and fork with ***.
According to Taiwan media reports, Kuomintang candidates Han Kuo-yu and Jiang Qichen arrived at the People's Party caucus at 9 a.m. today (29th), and the People's Party's quasi-democratic representatives Huang Guochang, Huang Shanshan, and Chen Zhaozi went downstairs to greet them. Han Kuo-yu and Jiang Qichen shouted out the names of the would-be representatives of the Baiying camp one by one and shook hands, showing their sincerity and a pleasant atmosphere. When the two sides took a group photo, Han Kuo-yu also took the initiative to put Huang Guochang on his shoulders and asked if he wanted to hug him. Subsequently, the two sides went upstairs for a closed-door meeting.
Han Kuo-yu and Huang Guochang interacted enthusiastically Source: Hong Kong's "China Review Press".
Han Kuo-yu said after the meeting that he and Jiang Qichen were honored to visit the People's Party. Han stressed that the meeting discussed the reform of the legislature and whether the opposition parties can join forces to meet the needs of the people in the future. Han Kuo-yu said that the communication between the two sides was very thorough. In response to many people's description of the meeting as a closed-room consultation, Han Kuo-yu clarified that the KMT is now in the opposition and has no resources, only to exchange views with the People's Party with great sincerity, and called on the outside world not to look at this benign and healthy meeting with negative thinking.
Huang Guochang said that he would like to thank Han and Jiang for visiting the People's Party, as Han said above, this is a very healthy and benign interaction, and there is no private torture hall and secret room consultation described by the outside world, and thank them for coming to have a benign and friendly exchange of views with the eight members.
At about 2:30 p.m. on the same day, You Xikun and Cai Qichang arrived at the People's Party caucus, and Huang Guochang, Huang Shanshan, and Chen Zhaozi went downstairs to greet them. Because Huang Guochang once stated that he did not support Cai Qichang, the interaction between the two has also attracted attention. After Huang Guochang shook hands with You Xikun, he also shook hands with Cai Qichang, and the two sides shook hands with each other, and then walked up to the party conference room on the third floor together. However, some Taiwan media observed that compared with the relaxed enthusiasm of Han Kuo-yu and the People's Party caucus, You Xikun appeared more stiff, and he and Cai Qichang shook hands with the eight elected people of the People's Party caucus, took a group photo, and then held a closed-door meeting.
After nearly an hour of exchanges, the two sides also held a press conference this afternoon. You Xikun said that he felt the people's caucus's insistence on the reform of the legislature, and the two sides had the same position on some issues, and there were also some ideas that they agreed on. Huang Guochang said that the two sides fully exchanged views, and the People's Party would definitely "enter and leave." But how to decide in the future will be discussed again.
It is reported that after the talks between the eight quasi-democratic representatives of the People's Party and the blue-green candidates, they will meet to discuss and decide on the final voting intention according to the proposals of both sides, and it is expected that there will be a decision as soon as tomorrow (30th), and the answer will not be announced until the last minute.
"Blue and white" or "green and white" is up in the air. Taiwan's "China Times" carried out an analysis with the title of "Ke Wenzhe's One Thought", saying that Ke Wenzhe can recall how the five seats of the People's Party in the past four years have been treated in the legislature. How many bills are there that are coerced by ***numerical advantage**? How many propositions, even if they are barely squeezed into the negotiation, are read by You Xikun hastily once and are not taken seriously? These innumerable "most cold violence", has Ke Wenzhe forgotten it? The article said that the People's Party is a "key minority", but this role should be used to strengthen the opposition forces, so that the People's Party has more money to speak for the people, rather than as a ticket to exchange benefits with the ruling party, "If Ko Wenzhe really agrees to the devil's deal, then February 1 is the first day that the People's Party enters the bubble."
Some people on the island have also observed that although many Ke fans are "light green", this does not mean that "green and white" are legitimate. The People's Party should not use the thinking of "either green or blue" to make decisions, but should use the thinking of "currying favor with the ruling party or cooperating with the opposition party" to make decisions. It is observed that in order to seek autonomy, the People's Party can of course refuse to be a "little blue", but the legislature presided over by Han Kuo-yu is an area where the People's Party can exert influence.
Shen Zhengnan, a Taiwanese doctor who often comments on the political situation on the island, said that it seems to be just an election for the chairman and deputy head of the legislature, but it is actually related to the development direction of the People's Party in the next four years. Ke Wenzhe said that he wants to run for the leadership of the Taiwan region in 2028, and Huang Guochang, the representative of the People's Party, also intends to run for mayor of New Taipei in 2026. Ke and Huang want to be elected, and the only chance is to achieve "blue and white cooperation". Shen Zhengnan said that if the direction of the "blue and white cooperation" is determined, then the election of the chairman and deputy head of the legislature will be the first military training, and in the future, the two sides will have more tacit understanding in the legislature and the "nine-in-one" election in Taiwan in 2026, and they will not easily lose to the green camp by 2028.
Author丨Yang Zhaoyuan, the chief writer of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News.
Editor丨Liu Liping, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Satellite TV Direct News.
Typesetting丨Tang Leyi, Shenzhen Satellite TV direct news editor.