Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday launched a crowdfunding Web site for his re-election campaign, with a first-phase goal of raising about NT$13.1 million (US$427,657).
The Web site — called “Keep It Possible” (改變成真，持續發生) — offers four funding options ranging from NT$500 to more than NT$2,000 and include Ko-themed merchandise, including a T-shirt, a tote bag, stickers of Ko’s famous remarks and “Keep It Possible” stickers and pins.
In the first-phase NT$3.2 million, or 24 percent, would be used to produce merchandise; NT$5.9 million, or 45 percent, would be spent on administrative performance advertisements; NT$2.7 million, or 21 percent, would go to campaign events; and NT$1.3 million, or 10 percent, would be used to set up campaign offices, Ko’s election campaign team said.
Screengrab from Ko’s fundraising Web site
“I never understood why young people who have the most passion often have the lowest voter turnout rate, and then I realized that it was because, although they are passionate, they cannot find someone with whom they identify, so why should they vote?” Ko says in a short video on the Web site.
Ko said that he attracted so many young voters in 2014 because he did not erect campaign flags, stopped fundraising as soon as funding goals were met and disclosed accounting information, allowing them to believe in a new election culture.
The political culture of spending enormous amounts of money on election campaigns is one of the main causes of political corruption, because it not only excludes people with less money from running in elections, but those who have enough money often receive donations from private companies, making it hard for them to implement fair and just policies after they are elected, he said.
An NT$20 million bank loan using his home as collateral is to mainly be spent on staff and miscellaneous expenditures, Ko said, adding that it would be paid back by an election subsidy of NT$30 per vote.
The cost of election campaign events and advertising would be covered through crowdfunding, so supporters know what their funds are used for, he said.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS