Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has come under fire from legislators after he compared the nation to a bank robber in its relationships with China and the US during a TV interview on Friday evening.
Ko said he is concerned that Taiwan’s space for survival is shrinking under the influence of China and the US.
He first expressed the view on Thursday evening in a live interview with Internet fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢), in which Ko said that the precarious cross-strait relationship is characterized by Taiwan trying to find a balance.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“How can we expand our space? It is much more difficult than it was eight years ago,” Ko said, adding that China’s red line used to be Taiwan declaring independence, while the US used to demand that China not occupy and govern Taiwan.
However, due to trade tensions, China wants Taiwan to express its willingness to unify, while the US wants Taiwan to take a stance against China or even “follow it with a drill in hand,” he said.
During the interview on Friday, Ko was asked if it would be possible to gain more international space if Taiwan developed a better relationship with the US.
He said that doing so would be like “robbing a bank” and getting arrested because the robber “only saw the money and did not notice the police.”
“Taiwan is already facing a difficult diplomatic situation with China suppressing us in all aspects, so we hope everyone can support the government,” Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said, adding that most Taiwanese could not accept comparing the nation to a “robber” and China to “the police.”
Former New Taipei City mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday said that people should not use random metaphors to describe the nation’s diplomacy or cross-strait relations, because they “can offend Taiwan’s friends.”
Asked about his remarks yesterday, Ko said he meant that when contacting China or the US, Taiwan must pay attention to how the other responds.
He did not intend to belittle any person or country in the metaphor, he said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS