Acknowledging that he has criticized pan-green and pan-blue politicians too harshly over the past week, Taipei Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he also believes that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) would not have supported him in the 2014 Taipei mayoral election if it could have won by itself.
Ko had been asked to comment on a remark that political commentator Yao Li-ming (姚立明), who was Ko’s executive campaign director for the 2014 election, made about him on a political talk show on Thursday.
Ko on Wednesday said that he “harbors resentment” toward President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Yao said that Ko was being “ungrateful,” because the term “white force,” which differentiates him from the pan-blue and pan-green camps, was actually thought up by campaign officials that Tsai had sent to help Ko.
“If the DPP could win the 2014 Taipei mayoral election, they would not have given me a chance, so the decision was made to suit their interests at the time,” Ko said yesterday. “What they did not expect was that this guy — Ko Wen-je — is not so obedient.”
He said becoming a politician was an accident, as he had been doing fine as a surgeon at National Taiwan University Hospital until an unexpected event occurred, and he stumbled upon the profession.
The breakup between the pan-green camp and the white force was due to the DPP not realizing that “not all those who criticize you are your enemy,” Ko said, adding that he does not like the divide between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, both of which have since about 1996 been labeling those outside their party as “the enemy.”
Since the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Monday announced that Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) would face Tsai in January’s election, Ko has been criticizing Tsai, Han, the DPP and even Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
“I have been reflecting ... about the harsh rhetoric I have used in the past few days,” he said, adding that he would try to restrain himself, as his mother told him that while he might soon forget what he said about others, the person he criticized might remember it for 20 years.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
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