Taiwan's third party, looking for poll breakthrough, says it is happy to work with others

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The presidential candidate for the small Taiwan People's Party (TPP) said on Friday he is willing to set politics aside and work with other parties if he wins Saturday's election, describing himself as the only person Beijing and Washington would have no problem with.

Former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je, who founded the TPP in 2019, has won a passionate support base especially among young people for putting issues like the high cost of housing and low wages at the centre of his campaign, and says Taiwan needs to break the traditional two-party mould for real change.

Taiwan will hold pivotal presidential and parliamentary elections on Jan. 13, which are being closely watched internationally amid geopolitical tensions and an increasingly assertive China.

Even if Ko is unable to take enough votes from the two other well-established parties to win the presidency, the TPP could get enough lawmakers to make a key difference in parliament if no party wins a majority there.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) currently has a majority in parliament. Taiwan's largest opposition party the Kuomintang (KMT) is looking to win back the presidency after loosing the last two elections.

Asked about the possibility of working with other parties in parliament, Ko said that since the party was founded it had cooperated with other parties depending on the topic.

"We won't pay too much attention to the distinction between parties. We're mainly about cooperation on issues. It's not to say we will definitely cooperate with any political party on every issue," Ko told foreign reporters.

The KMT, which had tried to form a joint ticket with the TPP until talks collapsed in acrimony late last year, has called on Ko to rule out working with the DPP.

If Ko does become Taiwan's next president, one major issue he will face is China, which views the island as its own territory and has stepped up military and economic pressure to assert its sovereignty claims.

Ko has pointed to his past successful experience dealing with China during the annual Taipei-Shanghai city forum, and says while he wants to talk to Beijing his bottom line is guaranteeing Taiwan's democracy and way of life, and that Taiwan's ties with the United States are crucial too.

"Among the current trio of candidates, Ko Wen-je is the only person who is acceptable to both China and the United States. This is currently my biggest advantage," he said.

Ko also pledged to raise defence spending as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) to 3% from the current 2.5%.

"No one bases the security of their country on the goodwill of others. Therefore, Taiwan's security is not entrusted to Xi Jinping's personal will," he said, referring to China's president.

China, which has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control, has framed the elections as a choice between "peace and war", calling the DPP dangerous separatists and urging Taiwanese to make the "right choice".

The DPP rejects China's sovereignty claims, and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry)