Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) apology for a controversial remark on cross-strait relations and his support for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-election bid were yesterday met with a lukewarm response from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Ko on Tuesday said on a radio talk show that he supports Tsai running for re-election in 2020 and apologized for saying that the “two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family.”
The show sparked great controversy when it was broadcast on Wednesday, with many interpreting it as Ko’s attempt to seek cooperation from the DPP, which endorsed the physician-turned-politician in the 2014 race, for this year’s Taipei mayoral election.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Ko’s comments should not be overinterpreted, as there are more important things for the DPP to consider when determining its election strategy for the Taipei mayoral race, Tsai told reporters during a visit to Hsinchu Biomedical Science Park yesterday.
The DPP’s top priorities for Taipei are the expectations of its residents and their vision for the city, Tsai said, adding that the party would also consider how to best assist the central government to implement policies that require collaboration with the city government.
“We must not forget what we have set out to achieve in the first place,” she said.
Asked about Ko’s remarks on the talk show, DPP Electoral Strategy Committee coconvener Chen Ming-wen (陳明文) said: “All I can say is that I know what he was trying to say.”
Chen said he believed Ko was trying to help DPP supporters understand why he had made the “one family” comment.
“He is apparently making a friendly gesture to the party,” he added.
Chen said he was not surprised that Ko supports Tsai running for re-election, because Ko has expressed that position before.
The committee has standard procedures and would not allow outside factors to affect its election strategies, he said.
It would gauge public opinion and try to better understand what DPP supporters think, he added.
Ko’s apology indicated that he “finally realized he had hurt the feelings of many DPP supporters,” DPP Taipei chapter director Huang Cheng-kuo (黃承國) said.
Ko explained the context in which he made the comment and supporters will make their own decisions on what to make of it, he said.
Meanwhile, former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), who was nominated by the KMT as its Taipei mayoral candidate on Wednesday, criticized Ko for flip-flopping and called him a “jellyfish” that is quick to bend to pressure.
Ko told reporters on the sidelines of a Mother’s Day event in Taipei yesterday that it is difficult to maintain balance and keep going in a society as politically polarized as Taiwan’s.
One group criticized him for making the “one family” comment, while the other criticized him for apologizing, he said.
He apologized in the hope of appeasing those who were displeased by the comment, Ko said.
“They were upset. What can I do?” he added.
Ko said he was convinced by Taipei Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun (陳景峻) and radio talk show host Chen Yue-hsin (陳雨鑫) to do the interview and clear up possible misunderstandings.
He has always proposed maintaining economic ties and reducing tensions with China, he said.
Additional reporting by Ann Maxon
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS