Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday questioned why opinion polls are asking questions about support for him in the 2020 presidential election when he has never voiced a desire to run for the job.
After attending a handover ceremony for municipal school principals, Ko was asked by reporters about an opinion poll released on Tuesday that found nearly 40 percent of respondents supported Ko in running for presidency in 2020.
“This is interesting. I have never said I am going to run for president, so why are you asking that in the opinion poll?” Ko said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The poll indicated that his support rate could be higher than President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) if he challenged her re-election bid, although 51.6 percent of respondents were against him running for president, and 54.9 percent of residents in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung opposed the idea.
As for the Nov. 24 elections, Ko has a significant lead (64.4 percent) in supportive rate against his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rivals, Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and Legislator Pasuya Yao (姚文智) respectively, the poll found.
Taipei residents are often least optimistic about him winning re-election when compared with the rest of the nation, but it might be because of “the beauty of distance,” he said, citing the lack of roadside parking fees outside of Taipei.
“It is interesting that the lowest support rate nationwide I get is in Taipei,” Ko said.
In his speech at the ceremony, Ko said that if he is re-elected, pushing forward with full-scale digitalization in education would be very important, as only by bridging the digital divide can students from lower socioeconomic levels have an opportunity to learn and compete with others.
Ko said he wanted to expand the scope of bilingual education in Taipei, and he pledged to continue funding for cultural exchanges to boost Taipei’s and Taiwan’s global presence by subsidizing overseas visits for students and teachers, encouraging students from other nations to visit Taipei and holding international events.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS