An informal meeting between Taipei mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) Chairman Chen Deming (陳德銘) went awry yesterday.
The meeting was arranged by Taiwan Memory Co (台灣記憶體公司) chairman John Hsuan (宣明智). Media outlets reported that the plan was to seat Ko and Chen at separate tables for lunch at the same restaurant and then have Ko and Chen meet each other “unexpectedly.”
However, Chen, who arrived on Tuesday last week for an eight-day visit, said he was delayed at the Cross-Strait CEO Summit in the morning in Taipei and was therefore unable to visit Hsuan’s biotechnology company, Meribank (宣捷幹細胞生技), in New Taipei City as planned, so the lunch did not take place.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Ko, who wen to the restaurant for a discussion with Hsuan on the development of the health industry in Taipei, joked that Chen was scared off the Taiwanese media.
Ko, who is not affiliated with any political party, although the Democratic Progressive Party supported him during his election campaign, said he did not regret that the informal meeting with Chen had not happened, as he did not know that Chen would be there to begin with.
Earlier in the day, when news of the plan to have Ko and Chen meet emerged, reporters asked Ko what he would have said to Chen if the two had met.
Ko said that he had no idea what the two of them would say to each other, apart from: “Hello.”
Chen did meet yesterday with former vice president Lien Chan (連戰) and former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) in separate visits.
Chen’s trip is the first by a senior Chinese official since the Nov. 29 nine-in-one elections, in which the KMT experienced heavy losses. Lien’s son, KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文), and Wu’s son, Taoyuan County Commissioner John Wu (吳志揚), were defeated in the elections.
According to sources, Chen’s meetings with Lien Chan and Wu Poh-hsiung did not touch upon the election in an effort to avoid awkwardness.
Additional reporting by Peng Hsien-chun
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS