Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said he would look for a suitable re-election campaign director, but rejected allegations that he is calling for “White Terror-like” investigations of municipal officials’ political affiliations ahead of the Nov. 24 local elections.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Friday said that he would meet with KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) next week to discuss election matters.
Chiang is a good choice for campaign director, but he would solicit more advice before deciding, Ting said.
As he was visiting the Tianmu Sports Park yesterday morning, Ko, who is leading in opinion polls, was asked whether he is worried that collaboration between Ting and Chiang would attract more votes from young people.
Everyone will find the most beneficial method for themselves and fight to achieve their goals, Ko said, adding that he believed he only needs to focus on re-election and doing his job well.
Asked whether he was worried about finding a suitable campaign director, Ko said he had not considered the matter, but would begin looking for someone.
During a question-and-answer session at the Taipei City Council on Friday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said that she received a tip-off from a city government official, who said that the city government is investigating whether officials are DPP members.
Ko immediately rejected the allegation as a rumor, but Hsu accused the municipality of carrying out “White Terror-like” investigations only a few days after the DPP announced that it would nominate its own Taipei mayoral candidate, rather than supporting Ko for a second term.
Ko yesterday said he has looked into the case, but still has no idea where the rumor comes from.
Accusations should be backed up with proof, Ko said, adding that many rumors are discussed by pundits on talk shows, but no one really knows whether they are true.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
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