Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday panned Foxconn Technology Group chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) for remarks urging more economic liberalization and cross-strait economic exchanges, while saying that democracy is not the most important thing.
“Gou’s objective of boosting economic development is right, but the way he seeks to achieve the goal is wrong,” Ko said during a campaign event yesterday, when asked to comment on Gou’s televised interview on CTiTV on Saturday.
“Of course we should continue to trade with China — we cannot give up the Chinese market — however, we should keep our eyes beyond China,” Ko said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
He was referring to Gou’s worries during the interview about the effect that a free-trade agreement between South Korea and China could have on Taiwan.
Ko said that he especially disagrees with Gou’s assertion that democracy is not the most important thing.
“Democracy in Taiwan is still not a general democracy. If we have a general democracy, we will become a more powerful nation, so we should learn from the good, not from the bad,” Ko said. “It is up to us to decide whether we want a US-style democracy, or a Hitler-style or Soviet-style economic plan.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Ko said that the way to solve problems within a democratic system is to reform through a democratic method.
“That is why I said Gou’s objective is good, but his way to achieve it is wrong,” Ko added.
Separately yesterday, when traveling between campaign events, Ko’s vehicle was hit by a small truck from behind in the afternoon in a minor collision. No injuries were reported.
Ko said that he always keeps an eye on the speed of his van and reminds the driver to refrain from speeding.
“I was shocked when my van was hit from behind, but there was really nothing I could do to prevent it, because the car was coming from behind, and its driver was speeding,” Ko said.
Later, after introducing a panel of selectors for the future head of the department of environmental protection earlier last week provided he is elected, Ko yesterday held another press conference and introduced his intended panel of selectors for the head of the department of education.
The panel includes several professors, as well as former Taipei department of education director Wu Yin-chang (吳英璋) and former Greater Kaohsiung education bureau director Tseng Hsien-cheng (曾憲政).
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS