After Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) camp was forced to deny that it paid media organizations to run beneficial news stories, the denials rang hollow when Chinese-language Next Magazine published a four-page feature on Lien’s urban renewal policy platform.
“I don’t like to criticize my rival, but when you say something in public you must be very careful,” independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said when asked about the feature. “Let’s have a simple poll here, how many of you [reporters] believe that Lien didn’t spend any money to buy newspaper space?”
The dispute over the paid-for stories claims erupted earlier this week when Lien accused Ko of paying for news stories, saying that the independent hopeful seems to have a better relationship with the media and receives better coverage.
Responding to the claims, Ko said he has spent “zero” money buying media space and asked Lien how much he spends. Lien replied that he also had not spent money doing so.
Ko was then asked to comment on remarks by former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) — the father of Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) — that Ko advocates independence under the guise of the “Republic of China” (ROC) and that the contest between Ko and Lien is “a battle between the fake ROC and authentic Taiwanese independence.”
Ko responded that it should be defined as a battle between “authentic ROC” and “fake ROC.”
“I’ve openly said that the ROC is my bottom line, if these people [Hau Pei-tsun, Lien and other KMT members] are sincere about defending the ROC, they should speak out about the ROC when meeting with [Chinese President] Xi Jinping (習近平),” Ko said.
He also told reporters that, if elected, he would set up a panel to select top officials for the city government.
“I would hand-pick the head of the department of health, because I’ve been working in the field and know who would be good for the position,” Ko said. “As for the other positions, I would ask the panel to endorse suitable candidates. I believe that we can always come up with better ideas when there are multiple people thinking together.”
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