Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), yesterday said he was continuing with his experiment to develop what he described as an “atomic bomb” that he hoped would have a big influence on Taiwanese politics.
Ko made the remarks on the sidelines of a rally for TPP legislative candidates in front of the Taipei Election Commission. He had taken a couple of hours off from his mayoral duties to show his support for the party’s nominees on the first day of registration for legislative candidates.
He first arrived at the headquarters of an online live broadcasting platform in Taipei to promote the TPP candidates, before joining those running for seats in Taipei.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
They chanted slogans in front of the city commission: “Push the pan-blue and pan-green camps to the side and put the people back in the center” and “Let Taiwan reboot and the Legislative Yuan have new opportunities.”
“Innovation is the only path for Taiwan,” Ko said, adding that as a smaller party with less resources, the TPP has to find new ways to promote itself, such as soliciting votes through new media platforms.
No matter how difficult it might be for TPP candidates to secure seats in the Jan. 11 elections, he has often encouraged them to do their best and go on bravely forward, Ko said.
He added that he was continuing with his experiment to develop an “atomic bomb” — signifying his intent to make a big difference to local politics.
Asked whether the TPP has decided on its list of legislators-at-large, Ko said the party plans to register them tomorrow — before the Friday deadline.
Asked about reports that the announcement has been delayed because potential nominee Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈), deputy chief executive of Shin Kong Life Insurance Co and granddaughter of Shin Kong Group founder Wu Ho-su (吳火獅), was having difficulty persuading her family about her plan to become a politician, Ko said: “Everyone will know [who is on the list] on Wednesday morning.”
Although Taiwan is a free and democratic country, it still lags behind democratic states such as Sweden and Switzerland, as many Taiwanese businesspeople are hesitant about openly funding political parties and would rather donate cash without getting a receipt, he said.
Ko reiterated that the TPP’s goal is not to attract large cash donations, but to raise campaign funds through online platforms.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
‘POOP ON STAGE’: The song, which talks about the reluctance to graduate and anxiety about a lack of job opportunities, resonated with many students’ feelings The original song Poop on Stage has been chosen as National Taiwan University’s (NTU) graduation song this year, sparking much debate regarding the song’s title and content, which describes students’ anxiety about post-graduation unemployment. The title, Shang Tai Da Bian (上台大便), is a play on words that literally means “go on stage to poop.” The first three characters, shang tai da (上台大), also mean “to attend NTU,” as “Taida” is a common abbreviation for the university. The last character, bian (便), can mean “convenient” or “then,” but is more commonly associated with defecation. The lyrics of the song describe students’ reluctance to graduate and
RSS