TPP founder Chu Hui-jung disputes Chen Pei-chi's claim that Ko Wen-je was "not himself" at the 2023 Grand Hyatt talks
A public spat has broken out inside Taiwan's opposition camp over whether Ko Wen-je was mentally checked out when he signed the 2023 KMT-TPP unity deal, and it is bad news for Ko's wife Chen Pei-chi, whose defense of him is now being contradicted by a party insider.
- Chen Pei-chi wrote on Facebook that Ko was "not himself" during the 2023 Grand Hyatt talks with the KMT, with blank, vacant eyes, and cannot remember who proposed the odd poll-margin concessions or why he signed the six-point agreement.
- Chu Hui-jung, a founding member of Ko's Taiwan People's Party, fired back that she messaged Ko that same night about how the KMT-TPP merger should work, and he replied within minutes, fully lucid and serious.
- Chu offered to lend Chen her phone to see the messages if Ko's was confiscated, and said Chen should not make excuses for her husband this way.
- Chu also recalled tearfully warning Ko in August 2024 that if he held a press conference on his botched political donation reporting, the public would say "thank goodness we didn't elect you president."
- She told Chen to stop sitting at the computer imagining who is keeping Ko company and instead join him canvassing on the streets.
Outlook: The feud keeps the collapse of the 2023 KMT-TPP alliance and Ko's legal troubles in the headlines, deepening cracks between Ko's family and his party's old guard.