Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday for the first time campaigned for a People First Party (PFP) Taipei City councilor candidate, and said he would not give up seeking the support of PFP chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜).
While Ko is generally considered by the public as a candidate with close ties to the pan-green political camp, he has put much effort into marketing himself as a candidate representing all opposition groups.
Earlier this month, three PFP Taipei City councilor candidates attended the inauguration of Ko’s campaign headquarters, and Ko yesterday attended the inaugural event for PFP city councilor candidate Ho Chi-sheng (何啟聖), publicly endorsing the candidate.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Commenting on the issue, PFP deputy secretary-general Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) said that Soong would support any candidate who agrees with his ideas, adding that Ko’s ideas are getting closer to Soong’s.
“From the very beginning, I have said repeatedly that I would always try to gain one more friend while losing one more enemy,” Ko said after the event, when asked if he would seek to meet with Soong. “On whether I would like to meet with Soong, I would say that I would not force it, it would just happen when the opportunity comes.”
When questioned whether, if elected, he would appoint a PFP politician as deputy mayor, Ko said he would make the decision based on the candidate’s ability and considerations of gender equality, but not partisanship.
Ko went on to praise Soong’s administrative efficiency and ability, saying he has much to learn from Soong, and that he would improve himself according to Soong’s earlier comments about him.
Despite Ko’s implication that he would gain support from Soong’s and PFP politicians’ seeming interest in collaborating with him, Soong said that, at the moment, he does not plan to get too involved in the mayoral campaign.
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