Acting Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) today strongly denied accusations that former party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) had direct contact with top Chinese officials, calling it a “smear campaign.”
On Sunday, the Chinese-language Mirror Media released alleged messages between Ko, who stepped down last month as chairman of the party as he sits trial for corruption charges, and his campaign finance chief, Lee Wen-tsung (李文宗).
Huang told a news conference there was no need to formally respond to the magazine, calling it “trash” and the report an attempt to paint Ko “red,” in reference to the Chinese Communist Party.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
TPP Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said her pro-independence stance is well-known, and Ko would not have invited her into the party or placed her in a favorable position within it if he was pro-China.
Asked how Taiwan’s political parties should communicate with China, Huang said that it is the TPP’s mission to defend democracy, freedom and Taiwan’s way of life.
There is no need to engage in war, and the respective sides should be able to communicate for the benefit of the public, he added.
The messages Mirror Media claimed to have obtained showed that Lee communicated with former Mainland Affairs Council deputy minister Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀), E-United Group founder Lin Yi-shou (林義守) and China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Song Tao (宋濤), with the magazine alleging that these connections extended up to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) office.
Chinese officials allegedly had a favorable view of Ko’s candidacy, Mirror Media said.
It also alleged that Ko had ordered Lee to delete the messages due to their sensitive nature.
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