Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said he would cooperate with others if it was in the public’s interest, when asked if he might team up with former Hon Hai Precision Industry Co chairman Terry Gou (郭台銘) for next year’s presidential election.
Ko made the remark in response to reporters’ questions while visiting temples and meeting with supporters in Yunlin County.
Ko is expected to run for president as an independent, and there has been speculation that Gou, who lost the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential primary this month, could partner with Ko.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
Asked if he had spoken with Gou recently, Ko said: “To my knowledge, chairman Gou has not even returned to Taiwan yet, so what is there to talk about? We can talk if the opportunity comes up after he returns.”
The boss of a company usually has good abilities and Gou was the powerful leader of a big corporation, but politics is a different matter, so his defeat in the KMT’s primary implies that he still has a lot to learn, Ko said.
Asked if he might cooperate with Gou, Ko said: “As long as it is beneficial to Taiwan, we can cooperate... My logic is simple, under the premise of benefiting Taiwan’s public interest and the people’s well-being, we can think about how to cooperate.”
He also commented on the duty-free cigarette smuggling scandal that reportedly involved the National Security Bureau and several government agencies, saying that it is a long-established malpractice, which is likely only “the tip of the iceberg.”
An investigation into the case would be hard to see through until the end, he added.
Half of the bureau officials and aides-de-camp to the president could be involved, which would be like a “massacre” to the agencies involved, Ko said.
It takes at least two to three years for a political culture to form, and small problems must be solved consistently every day, he said, adding that the officers involved became unbridled in just three years.
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