Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) founder, chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is scheduled to visit Japan from Sunday to Thursday next week, and would meet high-ranking officials to discuss international and cross-strait affairs, the TPP said.
Ko would spend most of his time in Tokyo and would meet with administrative and legislative officials, TPP Secretary-General Chou Tai-chu (周台竹) said, adding that former Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) would accompany Ko on the trip.
Ko, 63, spent three weeks in the US last month and was formally nominated as his party’s presidential candidate on May 17.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In an interview with Nikkei Asia last month, Ko said that Japan, despite probably being under more pressure than Taiwan in terms of being caught in the middle of China-US tensions, has been dealing with the issue in a more flexible way.
He referred to former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) advice to him, saying that Taiwan should look to Japan if it faces challenges relating to the two superpowers.
Ko officially launched his presidential campaign in Taipei on May 20.
He said he was determined to run because he believed that Taiwan should be united, not divided, that it should be a facilitator of dialogue, not a “chess piece” between the US and China, that it should be Ilha Formosa — a beautiful island — rather than “the most dangerous place on Earth” as described by The Economist.
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