One of the most urgent tasks the nation must attend to after today’s elections is the promotion of “political reconciliation” to bring about social harmony, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko made the remark in response to media queries about how he plans to prioritize between two of his feuding allies, Sunflower Movement activist Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Hsinchu legislative candidate Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), for whom Ko had supported for several months.
The Chinese-language China Times on Thursday reported that Ker vented his anger over Lin campaigning for his rival, New Power Party Hsinchu legislative candidate Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), who had criticized Ker as being “only good at dealmaking.”
Ker cited the help DPP offered Lin and Sunflower movement activists during their occupation of the Legislative Yuan’s main chamber and his role as a mediator that helped resolve the standoff between the protestors and President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration by subjecting the controversial cross-strait service trade agreement to a review.
Ko said it is unnecessary to “pick sides” when two people disagree with each other and that people should learn to accommodate different views.
“This is something society needs to work on. We should learn to tolerate, accept and appreciate. While it is hard to appreciate someone’s shortcomings, we should at least learn to tolerate and accept them,” the mayor said.
One area where Taipei is more advanced than other municipalities is that fewer ideological conflicts exist between the pan-green and pan-blue camps, which is manifest in Taipei city councilors’ “pragmatic” discussions regarding budget requests submitted by the city government, Ko said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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