Pro-Taiwan independence groups yesterday protested against Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), saying that he has courted the “black and red forces” of criminal gangs and China-backed organizations and urging voters not to vote for him in the Taipei mayoral election in November.
“We call on the people to use their ballots to kick Ko out of office, because he is a shameless politician who has turned his back on Taiwanese, while secretly dealing with China to sell out Taiwan,” Taiwanese National Party Chairman Tsai Jin-long (蔡金龍) said.
Tsai and other independence advocates were protesting what they called the connivance of Ko and the Taipei City Government in pro-China policies, such as allowing Chinese Unity Promotion Party Chairman Chang An-le (張安樂) to hand out the “mayor’s award” at a Taipei elementary-school graduation ceremony on June 15.
“When asked by the media, Ko did not express his disapproval of the incident. This shows that Chang had the tacit support of Ko and the Taipei Department of Education,” Tsai said. “Ko has again demonstrated his personal pro-China stance, betraying Taiwanese.”
Protesters threw joss paper at the front entrance to Taipei City Hall, trampled on photographs of Ko and placed a curse for him to lose in the election.
Taipei requires a mayor who implements policies to develop the city and improve the quality of life of its residents, Taiwan Government Party Chairman Peter Ku (古文發) said.
“We do not need a mayor who talks frivolously and mouths off all the time,” Ku said. “Ko acts more like a TV entertainer and behaves like a clown.”
He urged Taiwanese to think clearly and review the events of the past few years, saying that “if people can do so, then they will not vote for Ko again, because they have been cheated by this devious politician, who has shamelessly promoted himself with his daily talk show performance, but is incapable of governing and implementing city projects.”
There are many indicators that Ko has collaborated with the “black and red forces,” such as his support of Chang and other criminals backed by China to destabilize society and subvert Taiwan’s democracy, 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign Taipei director Lai Fu-jung (賴富榮) said.
“Ko is leading his ‘white’ political force toward cooperation with gangsters and China-funded groups, the ‘black and red forces’ working to betray this nation and take away our freedom and rights,” Lai said. “Ko is a traitor, because in the old days under the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] regime, he would have been arrested and locked up for treason for conspiring with communist China.”
The Taipei Department of Education said in a statement that it has already expressed regret over Chang’s conferring of the award for top-performing elementary-school students and has requested that the school report on the incident and hold officials in charge of the ceremony accountable.
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