TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The TPP on Tuesday launched a fundraising drive to support first-time candidates nationwide and Chiayi mayoral candidate Chang Chi-kai (張啓楷).
TPP Chair Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said the party aims to secure NT$10 million (US$316,505) in funding for its candidates, per Liberty Times. Former Chair Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) added that major corporations are unlikely to donate at this time.
The TPP said that if funds are distributed evenly, its 48 candidates would receive about NT$40,000 each on average, per UDN. The party also plans to provide centralized campaign support, including legal teams, financial oversight and media resources.
Addressing financial oversight, TPP lawmaker Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said the party would learn from past mistakes and improve its handling of political donations, per NowNews. She urged supporters to contribute, noting the party’s relatively limited resources.
Meanwhile, TPP Taichung City Councilor Chiang Ho-shu (江和樹) called for equal distribution of resources to ensure fairness, per UDN. He added that while incumbents generally have more resources than newcomers, they did not receive the same level of support when they first ran.
The DPP legislative caucus criticized the TPP’s fundraising effort, calling it “shameless behavior,” per ETtoday. DPP Legislator Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) said that in light of Ko’s recent corruption conviction, the party should not be openly soliciting donations from the public.
