Taipei City Council Squabbles Over TAPM GM Post|北農爭議 柯文哲:吳音寧人事農委會決定

Both the pan-blue and pan-green camp are questioning why Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing general manager Wu Yin-ning has not yet been replaced. Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says this case should be handled by the agricultural council. But former Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Kun-cheng says he was tapped for the job but Mayor Ko overruled it because he didn't want a politician at the post. Lai criticized Ko, saying he is shirking his responsibilities.


Taipei City councilors order Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing general manager Wu Yin-ning to the council daily to bombard her with questions. While city councilors constantly question her suitability for the post, Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je has said it's the Council of Agriculture that decides whether she stays or goes.

The Democratic Progressive Party will continue bleeding if the Wu Yin-ning problem is not resolved. The decision rests completely in the hands of the Council of Agriculture.

Former Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Kun-cheng refutes this. According to Lai, he had been tapped to replace Wu but was shot down by Ko because Ko wants a non-politician at the post. Lai says Ko is now trying to distance himself from the issue because of how much criticism Wu has received.

I was told in November 2016 that I may be appointed to the (TAPM) general manager post. As things were moving forward on this front, Ko began throwing out a bunch of objections. (Did Ko openly object to you taking over the post?) Yes.

President Tsai Ing-wen has voiced her support. Ko says this will only raise tensions between the pan-blue and pan-green camps, but will this inadvertently benefit him?

He's slapping the KMT with one hand and the DPP with the other. He's turning the Wu Yin-ning controversy into a battleground between the pan-blue and pan-green camps. I think this is a political maneuver to manipulate the elections.

Commenting on the politicization of the TAPM personnel case, DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Shu-pei says Ko is trying to set himself apart from the DPP because he thinks he'll get more votes that way.