ELECTION 2024/Taiwan holds first-ever policy presentation for political parties

Taipei, Jan. 8 (CNA) Taiwan on Monday held its first-ever televised policy presentation for parties running for at-large legislator seats, just five days ahead of the country's Jan. 13 presidential and legislative elections.

The event saw representatives of 16 parties present their platforms in segments ranging from 4 to 15 minutes, with speaking time allocated based on the number of at-large candidates each party had put forward.

During the event, Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), a legislative candidate for the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), said her party's top priority was national security, a major element of which is to "respect a 1992 consensus [that adheres to] the Republic of China Constitution."

"We oppose 'one country, two systems,' and we oppose Taiwan independence," Ko said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidate Jean Kuo (郭昱晴) warned that if the KMT and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) won more than half the seats in the Legislature, it would create a dangerous imbalance of power, given that the KMT already controls a majority of Taiwan's local governments.

Kuo also recounted the DPP's achievements over its last seven-plus years in power, and touted the professional talent and diversity of its at-large candidate list.

Chiu Hui-ju (邱慧洳), who represented the TPP at the presentation, argued that 2024 offered a rare opportunity for voters to break the DPP and KMT's political dominance, and in doing so secure a better future for Taiwan's people.

Wang Bao-hsuan (王寶萱), a candidate for the New Power Party (NPP), also used her remarks to play up the potentially "pivotal" role her party could play in the Legislature if both the DPP and KMT fail to secure a majority.

In Taiwan's Legislature, 34 of the total 113 seats are categorized as at-large seats.

They will be decided by a ballot voters will cast for a specific political party, with the 34 seats allocated proportionally to each party based on the number of votes they get.

To win any at-large seats, a party must gain at least 5 percent of the total political party vote.

In the 2020 election, for example, the DPP won around 34 percent of the at-large ballots, while the KMT won 33.4 percent, and each received 13 at-large seats.

The TPP received 11.2 percent of at-large votes, thus getting 5 at-large seats, while the NPP gained 7.75 percent of the votes and received 3 seats.

Of the other 79 seats in the Legislature, 73 are for district lawmakers elected directly by voters, and six are for Indigenous lawmakers chosen by Indigenous voters.

Ahead of Monday's policy presentation, representatives of three small parties -- the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, Green Party Taiwan, and Taiwan Obasan Political Equality Party -- held a press event in Taipei to protest against the event's rules for allocating speaking time.

The parties also delivered a petition to the Central Election Commission, calling for the rules to be changed to ensure fair political competition.