A video uploaded by Taiwanese K-pop idol Chou Tzu-yu’s (周子瑜) management company of the 16-year-old apologizing for holding up a Republic of China (ROC) flag likely prompted more votes than allegations of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang’s (王如玄) alleged speculation on military housing did, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko made the remark before casting his votes at Taipei’s Jinou Girls’ High School in response to media queries regarding his view on the incident.
South Korean talent firm JYP Entertainment on Friday night uploaded a video showing an apparently dismayed Chou taking deep bows and apologizing for “hurting the company and the feelings of netizens across the Taiwan Strait.”
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Reading from a statement, Chou said there is only “one China” and the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one unified entity, adding that she was “proud to be Chinese.”
The KMT’s poor approval ratings took a further blow last year when it was reported that Wang had speculated on numerous houses that the government had built to take care of financially disadvantaged military personnel as part of its social welfare policy.
Asked whether a shift in political power would prevent similar incidents from recurring, Ko said: “This is a matter that needs to be addressed, but let us vote first and worry about it tomorrow [today].”
When further pressed to comment on whether the incident indicated that Beijing had imposed its definition of “one China” on the nation and infringed on the “one China, different interpretations” principle under the so-called “1992 consensus,” Ko said that this question requires public discussion based on a “new political landscape.”
The 1992 consensus refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that there is only one China, with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means. Former KMT legislator Su Chi (蘇起) in 2000 admitted that he fabricated the term when he was the chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council.
After the election results were released later yesterday, Ko congratulated all Taiwanese for proving themselves to be the masters of the nation in a democratic election.
He expressed relief over young candidates’ and voters’ active engagement in public affairs, which he said had helped lift the depressing atmosphere in society over the past several years.
He called on people with differing political opinions to reconcile to achieve harmony, to tolerate and then accept different views and to continue working toward a better future with the break of the new morning.
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