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.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS