Independent Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday renewed his call for the release of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) due to his medical condition, adding that he will pay a visit to the imprisoned Chen before being sworn in later this month.
“The issue surrounding former president Chen is a testament to President Ma Ying-jeou’s [馬英九] political wisdom,” Ko said when attending the 46th anniversary celebrations for the founding of Kang Ning Junior College for Medical Care and Management.
“I have from the beginning insisted that Chen should be allowed to return home for better healthcare, but I would advise him to stay out of politics after going home,” he said. “I know he might be losing the ability [to participate in politics], but I am afraid that some people might try to manipulate him.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) heavyweights, including the party’s 13 newly elected or re-elected local government heads, voiced the same call for Chen’s release.
However, Ko said he disagreed with former vice president Annette Lu’s (呂秀蓮) pledge on Friday to begin a hunger strike if Chen is not released by Dec. 25.
“We should refrain from making the call through such an extreme way, because it would leave no room for negotiation,” Ko said. “I am expressing my wish in a more moderate way because I think this would allow Ma to make a more rational decision on the matter.”
Commenting on the objection of the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems on his proposal to construct a new MRT line connecting the Nangang Railroad Station in Taipei to Keelung because it would overlap with an existing rail line, Ko said it was an idea he and Keelung mayor-elect Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) came up with.
“Of course we will make a more detailed assessment in the future,” he added.
Ko received a warm welcome at the school, with hundreds of students waiting at the front gate before his arrival. Crowds then followed him around the campus, with students rushing to shake his hand or take pictures with him as he walked around the campus with school administrators.
In the afternoon, Ko and his wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), organized a thank-you party at his campaign headquarters for volunteers who helped during the campaign.
At the party, Ko hand-painted eyes on Japanese daruma dolls — also known as Dharma dolls — as he prepared to deliver them back to Japan.
Daruma dolls are traditional Japanese “good luck” dolls modeled after the Indian Buddhist monk Bodhidharma.
In a Japanese tradition, only one eye is painted on a daruma doll when someone makes a wish. The wish-maker paints the second eye when the wish comes true and sends the daruma doll back to the monastery where it was bought.
Prior to his arrival at his former headquarters, Ko visited stores and restaurants in the neighbourhood to apologize for any inconveniences that his campaign activities might have caused them.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
COUNTERING THE PLA: While the US should reinforce its relations with partners and allies, Taiwan must invest in strengthening its defenses as well, Phillip Davidson said If influence in the Indo-Pacific region is one of the US’ core interests, then Taiwan serves as a cornerstone of US economic and security influence in the region, former US Indo-Pacific Command commander admiral Phillip Davidson said on Thursday. “China’s ... strategy is to supplant the US leadership role in the international order ... and they’ve long said ... that they intend to do that by 2050,” Davidson told the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in Washington. Davidson said he had previously told US Senate hearings on China’s military activities and possible threats in the Indo-Pacific region that a Chinese invasion of