Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party, yesterday accused the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) of “making irresponsible remarks” and “spending money” during their presidential election campaigns.
The key point should be a party’s ability to execute its policies, he said in response to media queries while canvassing for votes in Kaohsiung.
While Ko was canvassing in Kaohsiung’s Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市) on Saturday evening, a pedestrian called out: “Are you here to cover [Kaohsiung Mayor] Han Kuo-yu’s (韓國瑜) duties?”
Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei Times
Ko yesterday said that he had not heard the woman.
“I used to often say: ‘Politics is not hard, it is only about finding your consciousness,’ but recently I heard another joke, which is ‘Kaohsiung’s municipal administration is not hard, it’s only about finding the mayor,” he said.
Han is the KMT’s presidential candidate.
The Jan. 11 presidential election would likely be decided based on whether “people hate the DPP or the ‘Kuo-yu’ party more,” Ko said.
Asked about a remark by former premier and KMT vice presidential candidate Simon Chang (張善政) on Saturday that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is seeking re-election as the DPP’s candidate, has “brains full of paste,” Ko said: “Taiwan does not need people who can find or explain problems, and most certainly does not need people who create problems, but we need people who can solve problems.”
Chang could criticize Tsai and the DPP, but he should also have practical solutions to solve those problems, Ko said.
When asked about a remark by KMT Taipei City Councilor Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) that Ko’s support of a presidential candidate could be a critical factor in the election, Ko laughed and said: “My stance is that I will not take a stand.”
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
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