After a local magazine reported that Taipei City Government adviser Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) had stopped its reporters from recording Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) during an interview, Ko yesterday said it was because the interview had ended.
The Chinese-language Wealth Magazine on Wednesday published an interview with Ko, in which it reported that he described Tsai, his former colleague at National Taiwan University Hospital and former chief of staff at the city government, as a “flying guillotine” — a legendary Chinese weapon.
The magazine reported that Ko frequently strayed off topic during the two-hour interview, while Tsai used hand signals to try and stop him, before eventually standing up and telling him: “Stop going off topic.”
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
He continued to stray from the drafted answers, so Tsai told him to stop and called an end to the interview, it said.
Other aides rushed over, instructing the reporters to delete the footage, while Tsai told them they would no longer have the possibility to interview Ko, it said.
The magazine’s report reintroduced suspicions that the city government was allegedly intervening in media coverage, with the International Federation of Journalists having earlier this month accused the city of repeatedly interfering in the media.
Asked about what he was saying when Tsai stopped the interview, Ko said: “She is often very angry, isn’t she?”
“This wasn’t a case of silencing a news report. The reality was that the interview was over,” Ko added. “Tsai Pi-ju has always been fierce — for the past 30 years.”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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