Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is scheduled to start a 380km bicycle trip from Taipei to Kaohsiung on Saturday, during which he is expected to meet with several legislative candidates from across the political spectrum.
Ko had previously said that the purpose of the trip was to promote the Velo-City Global Conference — an international event to promote cycling which Taipei is set to host from Feb. 27 to March 1.
According to Ko’s itinerary, he is to set out from the Guandu (關渡) area at 5am and finish the trip on Sunday at 2am.
Asked to comment on his trip yesterday, Ko said that he was not sure whether he would be able finish it.
“You just need to keep your feet moving,” he said.
Ko also called on people to register for a cross-city cycling tour on Feb. 28, which he said he would attend.
The tour is part of the Velo-City Global Conference and is to be open to 4,000 participants, Ko said.
Meanwhile, critics have said that Ko’s bicycle trip is also designed to allow him to campaign for legislative candidates he supports.
A source from within the Taipei City Government said that the candidates that are expected to meet with Ko on Saturday include the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), who is campaigning in Taipei’s Beitou-Shihlin (北投-士林) electoral district; the DPP’s Lu Sun-ling (呂孫綾), who is running in New Taipei City; the Green Party-Social Democratic Party (SDP) Alliance’s Wang Pao-hsuan (王寶萱), who is running in Taoyuan; DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in Hsinchu; the Republic Party’s Kang Shih-ju (康世儒), who is running in Miaoli; the DPP’s Chen Wen-pin (陳文彬) in Changhua; the New Power Party’s Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸), an independent candidate; and People First Party vice presidential candidate Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩).
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