Mayor of Taipei Ko Wen-je, First of His Name, is angling for DPP support in the upcoming mayoral elections... first he has apologized for remarks he really never made. From TT:
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) apology for a controversial remark on cross-strait relations and his support for President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) re-election bid were yesterday met with a lukewarm response from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).Ko also said he couldn't run for president in 2020 since he doesn't have the support of a major party and it is crazy to imagine he could do so. Ko might be thinking of the presidency, but he has to mend fences with the DPP. Many of its members are imposing purist tests on Ko and are angry he isn't their kind of Green, at least publicly. But he has many times said he is green -- he couldn't win the young vote if he weren't -- and DPP members are showing a distressing lack of brains in criticizing him on that front.
Ko on Tuesday said on a radio talk show that he supports Tsai running for re-election in 2020 and apologized for saying that the “two sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family.”
The remarks that rankled were made at the Shanghai Forum in 2015.
Ko said that his stance on cross-strait relations and the forum can be summarized as “one family across the Strait” and four “reciprocal” actions: to know each other, to understand each other, to respect each other and to work with each other.But as I noted at the time:
Ko said: “兩岸一家親” whose "family" meaning is a bit broader, more like "we're all relatives together". Ko did not say "兩岸一家" the straight up "(one household) family" that Beijing always uses. Ko reminds me of Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, who understood the importance of discourse and were always seeking ways to push it and rework it in a pro-Taiwan way. Now Ko has added a new and weaker form of "family" to the range acceptable discourse, widening it in baby steps. Ko is pro-independence, so it's not like we have anything to worry about anyway...Still, Mayor Ko has made all the right moves, apparently signaling the DPP he wants DPP support. The DPP hasn't signaled back, though. The DPP city councillors all want the DPP to field its own candidate, IMHO a very short-sighted move. It doesn't seem like any current DPP candidate can beat Ko, so the DPP should support Ko and let Taipei experience another four years without a KMT mayor...
Let's hope reality stops the DPP from fielding its own candidate.
UPDATE: Several people have pointed out that Ko didn't really apologize, because he took nothing back. Technically true, but he's created the perception that he apologized, which is more important.
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Daily Links:
- Taiwan is Asia's #2 offshore wind market
- Josh Ellis: Nanjichang Community Lovely images.
- How Beijing pressures Taiwan. Graphic from AEI
- O heck yeah: Gas explosion that killed 32 in K-town finally results in prison sentences.
- Chinese aircraft off Taiwan again. US expresses concern.
- Taiwan Civil Gov't people detained for running a scam.
- American beef selling like hotcakes in Taiwan
- US House Committee votes to boost Taiwan's military capability
- Greenpeace writer in The Diplomat on the idiotic new coal plant in Shenao
- Australian town paints over Taiwan flags out of fear of offending Beijing. Idiots.
- SCMP published article claiming Ma Ying-jeou could run for a third term. New BLoom laffs.
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6 comments:
A lot of DPP do not see KMT as a threat anymore. DPP has been working furiously to eliminate KMT everywhere except New Taipei and Taipei city through the initiative on rail and water associations. We will have to wait to see if DPP's effort pay off in the coming election. If things go as DPP's plan. New Taipei will not be a problem in the future election, Ko on another hand can be a major threat if he gets elected for the second term, Some DPP wants to eliminate Ko right now instead of wait for later. They are not stupid.
long-term care 2.0 plan is also another major piggy bank to send money into local politician's coffer. It is not much different than rail projects. Care 2.0 is even longer lasting. KMT politicians no longer have access to money in this election. I predict that KMT will take another major beating unless CCP somehow sends money. With tourist been cut off, I don't think CCP has many effective ways to transfer money.
NPP is not a threat to DPP, Ko is and DPP is making move on that.
As an engineer, I really don't see the point of gleefulness at prison sentences for the pipeline explosions in Kaohsiung. Even the victims association has called them too harsh and missing the point of fixing the systematic issues rather than blaming single persons.
Taiwan, like many places, has an odd tendency to believe that everything happens due to the malice and benevolence of single human beings. Often times, this is far, far from the truth and things don't happen for single causes. In the case of Kaohsiung explosions, the problems were bad, there was carelessness, and it was chronic.
What about the low NT policy that results in low-value industries in Taiwan that take advantage of cheap air, cheap water, cheap labor, and pollute with no consequences or costs to the business? What about the industrial policies that led to the second largest city in Taiwan ever being built up as an oil refining and chemical processing cluster? What about the workers that laid the pipes? Or the engineers that designed them? Should they be sent off to jail too?
If you are so gleeful about this, would you call for the jailing of the Transportation Minister and the Taiwan executives of Toyota and Mitsubishi? After all, many more people die in car accidents in Taiwan than died in the explosions. How about executives of Taipower for all the air pollution they cause?
In the case of Kaohsiung explosions, the problems were bad, there was carelessness, and it was chronic.
....
If you are so gleeful about this, would you call for the jailing of the Transportation Minister and the Taiwan executives of Toyota and Mitsubishi? After all, many more people die in car accidents in Taiwan than died in the explosions. How about executives of Taipower for all the air pollution they cause?
Too often, nobody gets punished. So its a start, and the systemic issues won't get fixed until people know that someone will be held accountable.
Also, you seem to have mistaken satisfaction for glee.
Okay, sure, satisfaction and not glee. I don't think "starting somewhere" arbitrarily is in any sense fair or just. But really the crux of my disagreement is not that everyone is to blame therefore everyone involved should have gone to jail. Crucifixion solves nothing. No, this is just really bad engineering to be blaming any single person for what are really collective decisions and policies. Engineers, officials, architects will be unwilling to voice their insights and point out problems or sign their names to projects when they could be going to jail for unforeseen consequences to their complex designs. I disagree strongly with the macro-policies that led to the explosions. But the fact is that people wanted those industries, even in urban spaces, and it was shortsighted but it was public opinion. It is wrong and will lead to reluctance to problem solve and gives the public a false sense of satisfaction when the true factors that created the problems have not been delineated and addressed.
https://twitter.com/MOFA_Taiwan/status/996026363877326848
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