Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday told New Power Party legislative candidate Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) that it is more important to adhere to her beliefs than to propose policies in the run-up to next year’s legislative election.
Ko made the remark while attending a forum at Hung’s campaign office in Taichung.
‘white force’
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
Saying that he was at one point a fan of Hung, Ko called on the public to express their support for the “white force” — political novices — to change Taiwan for the better.
Ko praised Hung for managing to remain collected in facing challenges after being confronted with the death of her brother, army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).
He said that Hung Tzu-yung played a “critical role in a critical moment in Taiwan’s history,” which changed Taiwan’s fate.
Hung Chung-chiu, whose death sparked widespread public outcry leading to a massive demonstration, died after his superiors at the army’s 542nd Brigade subjected him to punishment exercises for bringing a cellphone onto a military base.
“Without the Hung Chung-chiu incident and the Sunflower movement, there would not have been a Ko Wen-je election campaign,” Ko said.
accidental politicians
Saying that both he and Hung Tzu-yung entered politics by accident, Ko added that he had often wondered what role he would assume in last year’s Taipei mayoral election and how he was going to influence Taiwan.
“Policies are bound to change with the changing of times, so it is more important to hold on to one’s beliefs than to policies,” he said.
Hung said that the upcoming legislative election was not her own fight, but one that will decide whether the nation is to change for the better, or for the worse.
She said that she must let go of her pain and stick to her beliefs to bring about change.
“One sees hope because she persists, not the other way around,” she said.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS