Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) is not a “political amateur” or a “common civilian,” but is part of a political family, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday.
Ko first made the remark in a TV interview on Tuesday night, during which he was asked to comment on two Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopefuls, Han and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘), who are being labeled by some as “the common civilian” and “the rich and powerful” respectively.
Han claimed to be a political amateur when running for mayor last year, stressing that he was “down-to-earth” and would push for a better “common civilian economy.”
Photo provided by ETTV News
“Is Gou from a rich and powerful family? He was born in a common family,” Ko said. “And you call Han Kuo-yu a common civilian? Come on, his wife and her family members have been county councilors for more than 50 years in total.”
When asked to elaborate yesterday, Ko said: “Han’s wife is from a political family. She, her father and her younger brother have all been Yulin County councilors for more than 50 years if you add them together, and Han has been a legislator for three terms and the deputy mayor of then-Zhonghe City.”
“So how can he be called a ‘political amateur’?” Ko said. “He is already part of a political family.”
When asked in the interview about Han’s idea that he could focus on his mayoral duties from Monday to Friday and run for president on weekends, Ko said he often works from 7am to 11pm every day with no clear definition between working and after-work hours.
“Common civilian” is a kind of mindset for politicians, and does not actually refer to the person’s background or how many years they have been a politician, Han said yesterday.
Ko also said that China is no longer like North Korea and has progressed, becoming become more like Singapore, so Taiwan should encourage it to continue progressing toward democracy and freedom, maybe at a gradual pace such as former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) prescribed.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy is on a slippery slope, meaning that it was poorly handled initially, so now it has become more tense and unsolvable, Ko said, adding that a gesture of kindness toward China is needed.
Asked if his idea of “standing with the US and Japan and being friendly to China” differs from former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) foreign policy, Ko said the KMT’s problem lies in its “comprador culture,” because people are not upset about doing business with China, they are actually upset about the KMT being the only one that profits from exchanges with China.
Ko was asked if his remarks encouraging China to become democratized might obstruct the annual Taipei-Shanghai forum planned for next month.
He said that China has improved a lot since the Cultural Revolution, but it can still become even better, and that he believes “mutual understanding” between Taiwan and China is very important.
Asked if China has ever tried to force him to declare his stance on the so-called “1992 consensus” at the Taipei-Shanghai forum, Ko said: “I am not a Chinese Nationalist Party member, so I think they have a different standard for me.”
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or