Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday urged young voters to try to convince their parents to vote for him on Saturday, as he has more support among the younger generation.
With just days to go until the election, Ko not only called on young people — who are more supportive of him, yet usually have a lower turnout — to vote, but also urged them to talk their parents into voting for him, as he has a lower support rating among older voters.
“I would like to call on young voters to actually go to polling stations on Saturday to cast their votes, since I enjoy more support among the younger generation,” Ko told a press conference at his campaign headquarters.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“However, besides casting their votes for me, I would like to urge young voters to also convince their parents to vote for me,” Ko told reporters.
Ko said his young supporters could send text or Line messages to their parents, “but I guess it’s not that easy to persuade your parents, so you could spend some time chatting with your parents, have meals with them, watch TV with them, and you could also help them with the household chores.”
Ko said that, in modern society, children and their parents often do not communicate very well or lack the opportunity to spend quality time together and therefore, trying to convince their parents to vote for him would be a good way to enhance relationships between parents and their children.
“As I said, my objective in running in the election is to change the culture and this is a good way to make a change,” he said.
Explaining why he has more support among the younger generation, Ko said it could be because he did not employ the traditional campaign strategy of buying ads in traditional media outlets.
“Young people obtain their information from the Internet, but the older generation still rely heavily on traditional media outlets,” Ko said. “Although I have had much media coverage and exposure, it may not be comparable to placing paid ads or paying for news articles.”
Several of Ko’s young supporters attended the press conference and showed the Line conversations they have had with their parents in their attempts to persuade them to vote for Ko.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft