Ko straying from ideals
Ever since Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) talked about “a shared destiny” at the Taipei-Shanghai Forum, he has become a target for the pan-green camp.
Regardless of whether his remarks were slips of the tongue or based on political scheming, people have started questioning the ideals and values that Ko promoted in 2014.
Just a few days ago, he said that the National Security Council and the Mainland Affairs Council are letting him deal with the Chinese Communist Party on his own.
To top things off, referring to an Argentine athlete who wore a Republic of China (ROC) flag over his shoulders during the Universiade, Ko said he would “first have to tell China, because that was not done by us.”
These statements show that Ko has failed to live up to his promises and that he seems confused about his own values.
He has also said he is opposed to removing references to Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石).
Removing statues of Chiang is not intended to create division or push a certain ideology, it is a matter of addressing a personality cult, and providing a fair and just verdict on that cult in order to promote a fair, just and empathetic society, so how could that be seen as running counter to national interests?
In such a politically polarized environment, the young generation wants a transparent and clean government, a fair and just society, and politicians who are true to their ideals and values.
Mayor Ko, the ideals that we in the young generation are looking for are looking more distant, judging from your actions and statements.
Huang Tzu-chen
Taipei
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