Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) were likely to launch smear campaigns against him, branding him “China’s bootlicker” ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Reporters had asked him about his comment that he was “more afraid” of attending next month’s twin-city forum in Shanghai than anyone else, but that he must take part, as it is the only official communication channel with China.
“There are about 2 million Taiwanese living in China and about 380,000 Chinese spouses living in Taiwan, and Taiwan’s exports to China are worth billions of US dollars each year,” Ko said. “Under these conditions, it is not right to have an official communication channel between the two sides?”
There have been no arrangements for him to meet with China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Liu Jieyi (劉結一), but he would not avoid Liu, Ko said.
“I have told Shanghai that we should talk about more practical matters, such as the economy and finance, youth exchange programs and municipal administration, which are not so controversial,” he said.
Asked about DPP Chairman Cho Jung-tai’s (卓榮泰) comment that the DPP would not attack Ko ahead of the election, Ko said: “They themselves do not bite, but will let the dogs out to bite.”
As for Cho’s remark that a person’s national identity and definition of national sovereignty should be clear, Ko said he thinks cross-strait relations is a non-issue that is becoming a real problem.
“The US will definitely not let Taiwan declare independence or let it be united with China, so the issue of unification or independence should be left for the next lifetime,” he added.
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
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