Independent Taipei City mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) drew mixed reactions with his remarks that former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) regime was “a model in politics” for all to learn from.
In a Facebook post, mentioning a conversation with a supporter on former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, Ko said: “I’ve always believed that during Chiang Ching-kuo’s era, there were strict regulations on government officials’ ethics, as well as on relationships between government and business — this should become a model in politics for all those in power to learn from.”
The remarks soon drew criticism from Facebook users.
“Ko should stop saying things against his own will to win support from not-so-hardcore pan-blue supporters, otherwise he may lose his own hardcore supporters,” Facebook user Jason Jiang said. “Government corruption was much worse during Chiang Ching-kuo’s time, it’s just that no [media outlet] dared to report on it.”
On the other hand, another Facebook user, Huang Ching-jen (黃敬仁), agreed with Ko, saying that his grandmother is a diehard pan-green camp supporter who never cast a vote for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), but would praise the KMT’s Chiang Ching-kuo as a president who had contributed much to the nation.
“There could be bad people in a good political party, and good people in a bad political party,” he said.
However, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) panned Ko over his remarks, saying that he is “a person who claims to be smart, but is now showing his stupidity.”
“Before history renders justice to the people of Taiwan, any comment that overlooks the big crimes that a dictator committed and only focuses on tiny good things he did is superficial,” Tuan said.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) also disagreed with Ko.
“Ko doesn’t need to praise Chiang Ching-kuo — this will upset pan-green supporters and prevent them from voting for him,” Hsu said. “It’s more important for him to elaborate his policy agenda to voters.”
Ko’s rival, the KMT’s mayoral candidate Sean Lien (連勝文), said Ko was only making such remarks for the election.
“Ko often says something one day, and changes his mind another,” Lien said. “This is all for the election — he’s not necessarily speaking his mind.”
Lien’s campaign office executive director Alex Tsai (蔡正元), who is also a KMT legislator, echoed Lien’s remarks, saying that Ko criticized Chiang Ching-kuo only a few months ago and is now saying he is a model politician.
“Ko is getting better and better at speaking according to his audience,” Tsai said.
Ko defended his comments by saying that, looking from a historical perspective, “Chiang Ching-kuo has brought more contributions than woes to Taiwan,” stressing that he would not worry about losing support from pan-green voters, “because history is history.”
Deh Tzu-tsai (鄭自才), one of the principal plotters in an attempt to assassinate Chiang Ching-kuo during a US visit in 1970, said Ko does not understand much about Taiwan politics.
“I urge Ko to go back and work as a doctor. He should not be involved in politics... Ko should focus on the medical field so he can contribute more to Taiwan,” Deh said during an interview with the Chinese-language Apple Daily News yesterday.
“Why would people learn from dictators? Would someone want to learn from Hitler? It is sad to hear Ko saying such things,” Deh said.
Peter Huang (黃文雄), who pulled the trigger in the failed 1970 assassination attempt, said that corruption would not have been reported on during Chiang Ching-kuo’s rule.
“What cases of corrupt government officials and their collusion with business circles went to judiciary investigation, and how many cases should have been investigated, but were not? [The investigation of cases] depended on the consideration by the one-individual dictatorship and one-party rule at the time,” Huang said.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the