The leadership of Taiwan’s New Power Party (NPP) is contemplating its future after losing all three of its legislative seats in the recent 2024 presidential and legislative elections.
The NPP was formed in 2015 in the wake of the Sunflower Student Movement. It is not part of the pan-green coalition but has cooperated in the past with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Having failed to reach the 5% threshold in the legislative party vote, NPP Chairperson Claire Wang (王婉諭) resigned on election night January 13, and will be acting chair until a new chair is elected. Wang led a press conference on Friday to discuss the party’s plans.
Wang points out that the three main reasons for the NPP defeat were its inability to retain talented members, a lack of political organizing, and the general political environment squeezing out smaller parties. However, she says the NPP is still preparing for the 2026 local elections. The NPP still has six serving local councilors and one township representative.
NPP Secretary General Li Chao-li (李兆立) says that the recent defection of NPP’s Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) to the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has led to a new wave of party members for the NPP. He adds the party is also gaining new members because of the performance of NPP legislators on housing justice, child safety, and transportation reform.
Li says that the party plans to hold seven events across multiple cities before Lunar New Year to publicly discuss the party’s future. Friday’s Taipei event was the first, and will be followed by events in Taichung, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Kaohsiung, and Hualien.