Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) comment on Sunday that Hong Kong is an island “without the soul for freedom” might have upset some of the territory’s residents, but Ko yesterday said he did not see any need to apologize.
His comment, made during a speech in which he discussed Taiwan’s democracy and the situation in Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and India, was based on what he perceived to be the “outcome” in the territory over the past few years, he said.
Hong Kong “does not even have elections” and its people have lost “their soul for freedom,” he said, adding that Singaporeans were “caged canaries.”
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Ko yesterday said that what he was trying to say was that democracy, freedom and pluralism in Taiwan should be valued.
He also said that his comment about Singapore was nothing new, noting that he said something similar to a senior Singaporean official during a trip to the city-state.
He added that he had once thought of moving to Singapore, but a visit there disabused him of the notion.
Gary Wong (黃梓謙), chairman of Hong Kong-based Path of Democracy, was in the audience on Sunday and he has protested Ko’s description of the territory’s residents.
While there is no real democracy in Hong Kong, its people retain their desire for freedom or they would not keep fighting for democracy, Wong said.
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