Ko Begins Attacking DPP Following Split|與綠分裂成定局 柯連2日砲轟民進黨

The split between Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je and the Democratic Progressive Party seems now a reality. After the party's decision to field its own candidate for the year end election, Ko has stepped up his criticism of the DPP. He criticized Premier William Lai for saying he is a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence," as irresponsible and said it is weird that the president and premier have different cross-strait policies.


One day after Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je and the Democratic Progressive Party parted ways, Ko attended a public event, where he received the support of several borough chiefs.

Ko's spirits were boosted by this show of grassroots support. The previous day, during a Taipei City Council interpellation, he criticized Premier William Lai. Lai previously said he is a "pragmatic worker for Taiwan independence," and Ko criticized this statement as a failure to take responsibility. He also targeted President Tsai Ing-wen.

(Have you always felt that William Lai's statement on Taiwan independence is a failure to take responsibility? Why did you say that yesterday?) This doesn't require any special explanation. I think it's very strange for the president and premier to have different ways of thinking. (So you think they should have a unified stance?) There's no time to discuss that with you today.

Ko said he thinks it's strange for the president and premier to have differing cross-strait policies, which hinted that he believes the government should have a unified cross-strait policy. The DPP is set to field its own candidate for the year-end Taipei City mayoral election, instead of supporting Ko as it did four years ago. Among the rumored nominees are Lai and former Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chu. When asked about his potential opponents, Ko said he can't control external events. Meanwhile, Ting Shou-chung, the Kuomintang's Taipei City mayoral candidate, criticized Ko's cross-strait policies.

Ko Wen-je goes back and forth between apologizing and saying the two sides of the strait are one family. He keeps changing his stance. To be honest, we don't really care about this anymore, because the most important quality a politician can have is integrity.