Taipei Mayor Ko-Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he respects political commentator Yao Li-ming’s (姚立明) plan to support Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) if he runs for Taipei mayor this year.
Yao Li-ming, who was Ko’s chief campaign director during the 2014 election, made the remark during a television interview with political talk show host Cheng Hung-yi (鄭弘儀) on Tuesday.
“I think Pasuya Yao will be a good mayor,” he said. “Whether he gets nominated by his party or not, if he decides to run for election, I am willing to be his chief campaign director.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Pasuya Yao responded on Facebook that night that he felt like he “has seen blue skies after rain.”
He said he hoped he could show the DPP and its supporters what “Taiwanese values” signify if he becomes mayor.
Ko, who is visiting the Netherlands, was asked by Taiwanese reporters whether he would still ask Yao Li-ming to assist him.
“Strategically speaking, there should be more friends and fewer enemies,” Ko said, adding that it is important to always leave room for cooperation.
In related news, online news outlet Storm Media on Monday reported that Ko had instructed city officials to blacklist one of its reporters for reporting on why former Taipei Department of Tourism and Information Commissioner Chien Yu-yen (簡余晏) resigned and details about the city’s preparations for the Lantern Festival.
Ko denied blacklisting the reporter, but said that 30 percent of the reporter’s story was false,” which caused trouble and affected mutual trust.
He added that he told city officials ought to be aware of unusual news leakages.
Ko’s action was criticized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
“An elected official, especially the mayor of a major city, should not be so quick to disparage the media, whose work is essential for democracies to function well,” Taipei-based East Asia bureau head Cedric Alviani said in a statement on the RSF Web site on Tuesday.
Ko yesterday said that news reporters are not professional if they do not check facts or seek balance in their stories.
While reporters have the right to interview, people also have the right to be interviewed, the mayor added.
Ko said he would deal with the issue when he returns to Taiwan.
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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