Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) yesterday defended the party’s decision to invite Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) to speak at a forum today, saying that dialogue between groups with differing views should be encouraged.
Ko, who is chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), is set to attend a forum in Taipei hosted by the KMT-affiliated National Policy Foundation this morning, with topics to be discussed including low salaries, intergenerational justice and housing justice.
The event, titled “A Future That Cannot Be Afforded,” is the second in a three-part forum series organized by the foundation titled “Vision of Taiwan in 2030.”
Chiang, who is also expected to attend today’s discussion, yesterday wrote on Facebook that over the past few days some commentators have equated the KMT’s invitation of Ko with “cooperation” between the KMT and the TPP, and that he was not surprised by what he described as “people leaping to conclusions.”
“The true significance of forums is dialogue and discussion,” he wrote, adding that if a forum is to be thought-provoking, it is best for its speakers to represent different perspectives.
“Otherwise, if everyone agrees, the forum would not be a forum,” wrote Chiang, who is the chairman of the foundation.
Allowing different opinions to be discussed would help to reduce blind spots in policies, he wrote.
“There are often various political opinions in Taiwan, and I believe that the many different opinions within [the KMT] are a reminder of this reality,” Chiang wrote.
However, if Taiwan’s democracy is to progress, dialogue between different groups should be encouraged, Chiang wrote.
The possibility of people leaping to conclusions should not be a discouraging factor, he added.
KMT Taipei City Councilors Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) and Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) had raised doubts about Ko’s invitation to the forum, while foundation vice chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) was not informed of the decision to invite Ko and felt that it was inappropriate, reports said.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS