Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday told New Power Party legislative candidate Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) that it is more important to adhere to her beliefs than to propose policies in the run-up to next year’s legislative election.
Ko made the remark while attending a forum at Hung’s campaign office in Taichung.
‘white force’
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Saying that he was at one point a fan of Hung, Ko called on the public to express their support for the “white force” — political novices — to change Taiwan for the better.
Ko praised Hung for managing to remain collected in facing challenges after being confronted with the death of her brother, army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).
He said that Hung Tzu-yung played a “critical role in a critical moment in Taiwan’s history,” which changed Taiwan’s fate.
Hung Chung-chiu, whose death sparked widespread public outcry leading to a massive demonstration, died after his superiors at the army’s 542nd Brigade subjected him to punishment exercises for bringing a cellphone onto a military base.
“Without the Hung Chung-chiu incident and the Sunflower movement, there would not have been a Ko Wen-je election campaign,” Ko said.
accidental politicians
Saying that both he and Hung Tzu-yung entered politics by accident, Ko added that he had often wondered what role he would assume in last year’s Taipei mayoral election and how he was going to influence Taiwan.
“Policies are bound to change with the changing of times, so it is more important to hold on to one’s beliefs than to policies,” he said.
Hung said that the upcoming legislative election was not her own fight, but one that will decide whether the nation is to change for the better, or for the worse.
She said that she must let go of her pain and stick to her beliefs to bring about change.
“One sees hope because she persists, not the other way around,” she said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS