Ann Kao (高虹安) was suspended as mayor of Hsinchu following her conviction on corruption charges. Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in an interview on Tuesday last week said that Kao’s loss of her civil servant role meant she would need an alternative source of income. Moreover, Kao needs money for lawyers, so Ko “feared that he would need to support her financially.”
Democratic Progressive Party New Taipei City Legislator Cho Kuan-ting (卓冠廷) posted on Facebook details from Kao’s bank statements, which showed that she had NT$18.1 million (US$557,953) in savings and no debt, throwing doubt on the idea that she would need financial support.
What is more perplexing is that during his time as Taipei mayor, Ko abolished the Taipei Department of Social Welfare’s practice of distributing cash gifts of NT$1,500 to elderly people on Double Ninth Festival.
Ko’s petty haggle over NT$1,500 to elderly people puts into perspective his contrasting attitude toward Kao, a young, well-educated woman whose net worth is nearly NT$20 million. Ko is a reverse Robin Hood.
Moreover, Kao has expressed her desire to cut ties with the TPP, announcing her resignation from the party on July 26, the day the court issued its verdict.
Ko is in no position to support Kao financially and even if she needed money, the responsibility would fall on her boyfriend, Lee Chung-ting (李忠庭).
What is Ko trying to gain from the situation? He has garnered considerable wealth from elections. In this year’s presidential election, Ko filled his pockets with NT$110 million in election subsidies and NT$340 million in political donations. Voicing an offer to support Kao is just Ko’s attempt to take advantage of her situation and draw attention to himself.
Sophia Lee is a member of the Taiwan Association of University Professors.
Translated by Wang Yun-fei
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS