Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has apologized for his controversial “two sides of the Strait are one family” statement and said that he would support President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) if she runs for re-election in 2020.
Ko’s criticism of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and his remarks that some feel are “pro-China” have led to speculation that the DPP might choose to run its own candidate for Taipei mayor in November instead of supporting Ko as it did in 2014.
Interviewed on Tuesday by GreenPeace Broadcasting Station host Chen Yue-hsin (陳雨鑫) for a show that aired last night, Ko said he first made the “two sides of Strait are one family” remark at twin-city forum in Shanghai in 2015.
With Taipei set to hold the Summer Universiade last year, Ko said he wanted to “express friendliness” toward China and try to reduce its obstruction, so he repeated it at last year’s twin-city forum.
“I am a person who is more focused on getting things done and not so aware of rhetoric,” he said. “Sometimes I speak too fast and might have upset everyone, so I can only say that I am sorry.”
Asked about his controversial analogy on cross-strait ties — “a married couple might say bad things about each other in an argument, but a quarrel between lovers begins at one end of the bed and is mended at the other end” — Ko said it was an off-the-cuff remark.
What he meant was that while there are quarrels between Taiwan and China, the two sides can still negotiate, and while national defense preparations are needed, Taiwan can still express its friendliness toward China, Ko said.
Chen asked Ko about speculation that he would run for president in 2020.
“I never had such a plan and I do not know where the rumors came from,” Ko said, adding that since he has no party or organization to back him, he could not possibly run for president in 2020.
“I think President Hsiao Ing (小英) will win the re-election,” he said, using Tsai’s nickname. “If she runs, of course I will support her.”
Preparations for the Universiade became smoother after Tsai took office, helping Taipei in many ways, Ko said.
The city always cooperates with the central government’s policies and had taken the lead in initiating some pilot programs, he said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS