Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that pan-green camp politicians would not be excluded from his coalition government if he is elected.
Ko was responding to an appeal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate and Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) to renounce all cooperation with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) if he becomes president.
KMT presidential candidate Hou You-yi’s (侯友宜) campaign urged Ko to vow to never form a coalition with the DPP in the Legislative Yuan or appoint its members.
Photo: CNA
“I do not understand this logic behind their excluding everyone else from government as soon as they get power,” Ko told reporters on the sidelines of door-to-door campaign in New Taipei City.
In response to a request to comment on a new KMT ad saying that a vote for Hou is a vote for Ko, he said that “voting for me straight-up will do. There is no need to do it in a roundabout way.”
Regarding former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) comment that Taiwan must trust Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in cross-strait affairs and reduce military spending, Ko said that he supports raising defense-related expenditures to 3 percent of the nation’s GDP.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan must be confident in the strength of its self-defense capabilities and have solid relations with its friends and allies before attempting to enter into dialogue with Beijing, he said.
“Nobody gets into this kind of thing by trusting the other side from the very beginning,” he added.
Separately, DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) yesterday called a statement from Ko campaign’s policy on indigenous people “arrogant and ignorant,” adding that the candidate has a history of discrimination against women and less-fortunate people.
A report from the independent news outlet wuo-wuo.com cited the Ko campaign as saying the candidate would protect endangered species by “educating indigenous people to change their religion and hunting lifestyle.”
Chang said Ko has shown a lack of respect for indigenous cultures on many occasions and accused indigenous Taiwanese of “whining about nothing” at last year’s Indigenous Youth Forum.
TPP Legislator Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈), Ko’s running mate, was seen smiling and nodding when a supporter complained that there were too many indigenous people in Hualien and that the supporter was scared of them, he said.
“Ko’s consistent arrogance and ignorance revealed that he does not have the temperament and character to be a presidential candidate,” Chang said.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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