Taipei, July 31 (CNA) The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) on Monday decided to remove a controversial "Vote White, Vote Right" slogan from its website after the wording was accused of being similar to that used by an American white supremacist group.

TPP spokeswoman Lin Tzu-yu () told a press event that the slogan had referred to the color white that the TPP brands itself with.

"It was supposed to mean that vote for the 'power of white' is the right choice," she said, refuting that it was associated with white supremacy.

Lin said Taiwanese people are not familiar with the concept of "white supremacy."

However, the slogan has since drawn "different opinions" from netizens and "friends from the West," Lin said, adding that is why the party decided to remove it.

Taipei-based freelance journalist Erin Hale, one of the first who pointed out the controversy, said the slogan could be uncomfortable for Americans because it sounds like white supremacist or Ku Klux Klan language.

Hale also noted that the slogan is the same as that of a now long-defunct U.S. white supremacist party.

She appeared to be referring to the National States' Rights Party.

Founded in 1958 by Edward Reed Fields in Knoxville, Tennessee, the party was built on antisemitism, racism and opposition to integration, and was known for its "Vote Right - Vote White" slogan before its dissolution in 1987.

As of time of publishing, the controversial slogan can no longer be found on the TPP's official website and has been replaced with "Do the right thing, Do things right."

The TPP was formally established on Aug. 6, 2019 by former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (), who serves as its first and current chairman.

Ko is polling second in Taiwan's 2024 presidential election, behind the sitting Vice President Lai Ching-te () of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and ahead of the Kuomintang's (KMT) Hou Yu-ih ().

The TPP is also the third most popular political party in Taiwan, behind the DPP and KMT, according to recent polls.

(By Joseph Yeh)

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