Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he heard that the slots for Taipei city councilors’ to sign up for this year’s cross-strait twin-city forum have all been filled, amid calls by some councilors that he should not cohost the event with Shanghai if he wants to run for president.
Although the Taipei City Government has dismissed speculation that this year’s forum is to be held next month, Ko has said that city officials would visit Shanghai this month to discuss details of the forum that is expected to be held in the Chinese city this year.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) yesterday reported that Taipei City Government Deputy Secretary-General Chen Chih-ming (陳志銘) on Tuesday left for Shanghai to discuss the forum.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Several city councilors across party lines have suggested that the forum be suspended this year, saying it would be bad timing as Hong Kongers have been holding massive protests against a plan to amend a law to allow extraditions to China, that it would be inappropriate for Ko to attend the forum if he plans to run for president next year and that the forum has not been helpful in improving Taiwanese livelihoods, the report said.
Asked about the councilors’ advice, Ko said it was strange, because he was told that the quota for city councilors to attend this year’s forum was fully booked.
He added that participating in the forum is not a problem for him, because he has not said he is running for president.
“There are so many conflicting issues in Taiwan every day, but people should keep their heads clear and do what needs to be done, despite other people feeling conflicted,” he said.
Ko was also asked about a report published by the Economist’s Intelligence Unit on Tuesday, in which it said it expects President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to win next year’s presidential election by a narrow margin against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The report said it expects Ko not to join the presidential race, but if he did, Tsai might lose to Han, as Ko would split the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vote.
“The forecast is a judgement made according to current information, but the biggest variable has not appeared yet,” Ko said. “I have always been the unexpected one.”
Asked if he might cooperate with the DPP again, Ko said there are many aspects to cooperation, just like Taiwan can work with the US on the economic aspect and work with China on another aspect.
Asked about the possibilities of a cooperation, Ko said: “We’ll see.”
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
RSS