Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he would look for a suitable re-election campaign director, but rejected allegations that he is calling for “White Terror-like” investigations of municipal officials’ political affiliations ahead of the Nov. 24 local elections.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Friday said that he would meet with KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) next week to discuss election matters.
Chiang is a good choice for campaign director, but he would solicit more advice before deciding, Ting said.
As he was visiting the Tianmu Sports Park yesterday morning, Ko, who is leading in opinion polls, was asked whether he is worried that collaboration between Ting and Chiang would attract more votes from young people.
Everyone will find the most beneficial method for themselves and fight to achieve their goals, Ko said, adding that he believed he only needs to focus on re-election and doing his job well.
Asked whether he was worried about finding a suitable campaign director, Ko said he had not considered the matter, but would begin looking for someone.
During a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council on Friday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said that she received a tip-off from a city government official, who said that the city government is investigating whether officials are DPP members.
Ko immediately rejected the allegation as a rumor, but Hsu accused the municipality of carrying out “White Terror-like” investigations only a few days after the DPP announced that it would nominate its own Taipei mayoral candidate, rather than supporting Ko for a second term.
Ko yesterday said he has looked into the case, but still has no idea where the rumor comes from.
Accusations should be backed up with proof, Ko said, adding that many rumors are discussed by pundits on talk shows, but no one really knows whether they are true.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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