Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls.
Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier.
Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with Beijing.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan should not neglect national defense or assume China is its enemy, he said, adding that the nation’s best defense lies in ensuring Beijing remains friendly.
Ko said he would bring about the normalization of Taiwan’s international status if elected and the opportunity presented itself.
However, insisting on being represented by a specific name would only weaken the nation, he added.
Later yesterday, Ko said he supports the deep-green political camp, as he is a descendant of a White Terror survivor.
He has never equivocated on his political leanings, said Ko, who is a physician.
Ko said he helped his patients regardless of their political affiliation when he worked at National Taiwan University Hospital.
“We all have different pasts, but share the same present,” Ko said. “The question is: Will we share the same future?”
It was at his insistence that the TPP initially included a Chinese spouse in its list of legislator-at-large nominees, Ko said, adding that building a society of coprosperity is one of the party’s ideals.
Ko said that Tsai has “done her utmost” while laboring under “the baggage of DPP ideology,” which is an impediment he would not face if elected president.
Taiwan-US ties would not change regardless of which candidate becomes president, with the nation’s relationship with China being the only variable, Ko said.
A poll released yesterday by online news firm My-Formosa.com showed Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the DPP’s presidential candidate, leading the three-way race with 40.1 percent approval.
The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), was second with 31.6 percent, while Ko had 14.8 percent, a new low.
DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) told a news conference that Ko is “a master at mixing colors,” having changed his affiliation from green to white, and then to green again.
“If he believes he is deep-green and identifies with the DPP, he should vote DPP,” Chuang said.
“Voters do not need to choose a counterfeit when they can just get the genuine article” by voting for Lai, DPP Legislator Lin Yi-chin (林宜瑾) said.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
RSS