The Taiwan People's Party is getting a new leader. Acting Chair Huang Kuo-chang will officially take over until the end of 2026 after winning a by-election to finish out former leader Ko Wen-je's term. Huang is a leading figure in the TPP and also serves as party whip in the legislature. He takes over at a precarious moment when the party is juggling maintaining its image as a unique third-party while also finding allies in the legislature, all without its founder at the helm. Ko is currently detained on corruption charges.
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00:00A new dawn for the Taiwan People's Party. Acting Chair Huang Guochang will be their
00:05new leader, taking up the helm from party founder Ke Wen-je, who was detained under
00:10corruption charges. Huang had taken over as acting chair after Ke stepped down in January
00:16and officially won the position on Saturday in a race against former legislator Tsai
00:20Bi-ru, winning over 96 percent of the vote. In a post on Facebook, Huang thanked the party
00:26and shared his vision as he rounds out the remaining two years of Ke's term, saying he
00:31hoped the party would remain a progressive local party and making it one that society truly needs.
00:37He continued to refer to Ke as chair and urged the party to make their detained founder proud.
00:46Ke was the party's candidate in Taiwan's 2024 presidential election.
00:51But the TPP's future was thrown into uncertainty when founder Ke was detained on suspicion of
00:56embezzling political funds and taking bribes in a construction project when he was Taipei mayor.
01:04New chair Huang also serves as the party's caucus whip in the legislature,
01:08and he's close with Ke, publicly rallying for his release.
01:12Ke endorsed Huang for the chair position. Now the party is preparing to move forward.
01:27The TPP plays a key role in the legislature, making the deciding votes on policy often
01:43teaming up with the main opposition, Kuomintang. And it remains an important third force in Taiwan's
01:48politics. Whether the party can keep working to fulfill its founder's mission now remains up to
01:54its new chair to play the right cards.