If elected, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) would form a coalition government, and might even ask former presidents to recommend candidates for the position of premier, who lawmakers could then choose from, he said in an interview published on Tuesday,
The government is run like a “dictatorship presidential system” or an “elected emperor system,” Ko said in an exclusive interview with Mirror Media magazine.
He said if he is elected, he would establish constitutional conventions so the president would be required to report and answer questions at the Legislative Yuan, appoint a premier with consent from the legislature, and freeze the budgets of the Control Yuan and Examination Yuan to balance and separate executive, legislative and judicial powers.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Ko said he would form a coalition government, enabling political parties to “become shareholders.”
For example, former presidents would each be asked to nominate two candidates for the position of premier, who lawmakers would vote on, he said.
Asked why he would make the best president, Ko said that only he can deal with China and the US, and the pan-blue and the pan-green camps at the same time.
He said if the presidential candidates were classified as “preferable, acceptable, tolerable and intolerable,” then only he would be considered “acceptable” by China and the US, while the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), would be considered “intolerable” by China, and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), would be “preferable” to China, but the US might give him a “question mark.”
Ko also asked if Hou is being a responsible mayor, as he took leave from his post only a month after being re-elected for a second term.
He said that the TPP is different from the KMT in that “aside from a few, KMT officials have been bought off by China.”
Although Hou said that he is against China’s “one country, two systems” policy, he embraces the so-called “1992 consensus,” and that when Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) talks of the “1992 consensus” Taiwan formula, it means there might be “one country, three systems,” Ko said.
He said as long as Taiwan maintains its current democracy, freedom, political system and lifestyle, he is willing to communicate with China.
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Ko said Lai would not be a suitable president, as the risk of war would be heightened and the economy would worsen, as about 40 percent of Taiwan’s exports go to China and it would be difficult to suddenly change this.
The DPP would fail in communicating with China because it promotes “desinicization,” he said.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS