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.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man