Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday officially inaugurated his campaign headquarters, vowing to become a mayor above party divisions once elected, while accusing his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) rival, Sean Lien (連勝文), of dodging answering questions about his personal finances.
Cheered by hundreds of enthusiastic supporters upon his arrival, it took Ko nearly 20 minutes to walk only a few dozen meters through the crowd, as he was constantly stopped by supporters who wished to shake his hand or take photographs of him.
“Victory for Ko! Victory for Ko! Victory for Ko!” The crowd chanted as Ko walked onto the stage.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“This is an election that is beyond blue and green, and all party divisions,” Ko told the crowd. “If I am elected, I will be a mayor for all residents of Taipei, as I have no particular party affiliation.”
“I will not join any political party when I get elected, and I will ask all officials in my city government to resign from political parties,” he said.
He promised that once elected, he would follow an “open government” policy that encourages the participation of citizens in decisionmaking processes.
He said he has decided to run for mayor not in the interests of himself or his family, but rather to pursue social justice.
“I believe that democracy, freedom, the rule of law, human rights, concern for the disadvantaged and sustainable development would go beyond all rivalry,” Ko said. “If I am elected, I will bring about positive changes to politics in Taiwan, making the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) more progressive and the KMT closer to the people.”
However, as he spoke about his vision, he also accused Lien of dodging giving answers about his finances.
“I’ve been open, I’ve made public all the bank accounts related to me when questioned by my rival,” he said. “I’m not like Lien, who has been dodging my request to also make public his personal finances, as I did.”
Ko said that he would not only avoid negative campaigning, but would be a fair mayor if elected.
Besides Ko and his campaign team, several city councilor candidates nominated by the DPP, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the People First Party also attended the inaugural ceremony.
Ko said this shows that he is a politician beyond party lines.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
The government yesterday donated US$200,000 to the Philippines to support post-earthquake relief and recovery efforts, following a powerful magnitude 6.9 quake that struck Cebu Province late last month, killing at least 72 people and injuring 559 others. The donation was presented earlier yesterday by Representative to the Philippines Wallace Chow (周民淦) to Cherbett Maralit, deputy resident representative of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, at Taiwan’s representative office in Manila. In his remarks, Chow expressed concern for those affected by the magnitude 6.9 earthquake that struck the central Philippines on the night of Sept. 30. "We sincerely hope for the earliest possible
RSS