Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that while he would reference President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) US and national defense policies, his policies on domestic affairs and cross-strait relations would be more moderate and rational if elected.
After Ko on Wednesday said during an interview that he would pursue Tsai’s national defense and foreign policies, a number of people have questioned why they should not just vote for Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate who has pledged to follow Tsai’s direction for his foreign policies.
In response, Ko yesterday wrote on Facebook that “although I agree on maintaining a good relationship with the US and the need for sufficient self-defense capability, I do not agree with President Tsai’s handling of cross-strait relations and internal affairs.”
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan People’s Party
Of the DPP leaders, Tsai leans most toward the middle of the political spectrum and has even been challenged by the party’s pro-independence groups as “not being pro-independence enough,” with one of the challengers being Lai, who competed with her in the party primary in 2019, he said.
Tsai has been devoted to improving relationships with allies and bolstering Taiwan’s military self-reliance, which he recognizes and would continue to seek, but the deadlock in cross-strait relations should be re-examined, he said.
“The leader elected in 2024 should follow the middle path to maintain Taiwan’s autonomy and should also be able to communicate with China and the US,” he wrote, adding that Tsai carries the DPP’s burdens and could not achieve what she wanted, so he questions whether Lai could.
Ko said if Lai is no longer a pragmatic political worker for Taiwanese independence due to pressure from the US, then he thinks that Lai is essentially a “Taiwanese independence liar” that has used the claim to deceive supporters and garner votes.
Ko said he would reference Tsai’s US and national defense policies, heading toward Taiwan’s autonomy, but seek a moderate and rational path for internal affairs and cross-strait relations, resuming communication with the other side of the Taiwan Strait and establishing a trustworthy dialogue system between the two countries if elected.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS