Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Monday said that he is considering the possibility of forming a new political party that would “put the people’s well-being first” in a way that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have failed to do.
Ko made the remarks in a TV interview with talk show host Liu Pao-chieh (劉寶傑) at 11pm on Monday night.
Rumors have been spreading for several months that Ko would form a new political party, so Liu asked him about the issue, as well as whether he intends to run in next year’s presidential election.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Ko said that he has not made a decision yet regarding the presidential election and remained elusive when asked whether a planned visit to Israel next month was related to his plans to run for president, saying only that he was “doing what needed to be done.”
“I am thinking about what is best for the country, because why should I form a new political party if it does no good for Taiwan? Taiwan does not need another KMT or DPP,” he said.
A party should “put the country’s interests above politics, factionalism or personal interests,” which is important to benefit the nation’s development in the long term, he added.
“I am not kidding when I say I am still thinking about it, I am really still thinking about this question,” Ko said.
When Liu asked about a recent poll that showed the DPP received less recognition for being honest and upright than the KMT, Ko said that the results of the nine-in-one elections last year showed that the public dislike the DPP, but people do not like the KMT either, so if people feel like the “old KMT is back,” it will be “game over” for the two-party system.
Using a metaphor that a monkey’s red bottom can only be seen when it climbs up a tree, but remains unseen when it sits on the ground, Ko said that the KMT and the DPP are put into the spotlight only when they are the ruling party, but it does not mean they have fundamentally changed.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
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