News outlets should maintain the fourth estate’s integrity instead of becoming political propaganda agencies or tools for personal power, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said yesterday after reporters asked him about comments Want Want China Times Group chairman Tsai Eng-meng made (蔡衍明) on Saturday.
Tsai called out Ko in an article published on Saturday in the Chinese-language China Times, five days after the relationship between the two men became the subject of intense media interest.
It began on Monday last week, when Ko said in a TV interview that Want Want China Times used to support him, but had distanced itself from him because he was not very “obedient” in making remarks they wanted him to say.
Photo: CNA
“The stuff that poured out of Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) mouth was what Want Want China Times had initially wanted him to say,” Ko added.
Asked by the show host whether he meant Want Want China Times was telling Han what to say, Ko said that news media can have their stances, but they should not go too far and become propaganda tools.
For the rest of the week, reporters repeatedly asked Ko what Want Want China Times had wanted him to say.
In a magazine interview published on Wednesday, Ko said Han was supported by the Want Want China Times, and that the company receives instructions from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO).
Ko on Friday told reporters that Tsai had wanted him to support the “colorless wake up, 10 proposals” (無色覺醒十大主張) initiated by Want Want China Times in August last year.
The idea was based on reason and practicality, and were aimed at providing an action plan for Taiwan to break through the political struggle between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, as well as the deadlock in cross-strait relations, the company said at the time.
The 10 proposals include acknowledging that “Taiwanese are Chinese,” helping Taiwanese understand the Chinese Communist Party and for Chinese people to understand the needs of the Taiwanese, discussing a unification process and model that both sides of the Taiwan Strait can accept, supporting Chinese direct investment in Taiwan and supporting the death penalty.
In an article published in the Chinese-language China Times on Saturday, Tsai urged the Taipei mayor to clarify just when and in what situation Tsai had asked him to promote the 10 proposals.
He personally identifies with the idea that “Taiwanese are Chinese,” Tsai wrote.
He believes that only when cross-strait relations are good and peaceful can Taiwan become better, so his actions come from a “loving Taiwan” standpoint, Tsai added.
“You [Ko] and I have met more than 10 times, do you not understand my true aspirations and real love for Taiwan?” Tsai wrote.
Ko should be open and honest, and tell the public about his relations with Tsai and the TAO, the tycoon added.
Ko told reporters that he had not read Tsai’s whole article.
“However, the media should maintain the integrity of the ‘fourth estate,’ and not become a tool for expressing personal power,” he said.
If China Times founder Yu Chi-chung (余紀忠) knew what his newspaper had become, he would surely cry bitter tears, the mayor added.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the