Current:Home > BackTaiwan’s presidential candidate Ko Wen-je seeks a middle ground with China, attracting young voters-InfoLens
Taiwan’s presidential candidate Ko Wen-je seeks a middle ground with China, attracting young voters
View Date:2024-12-23 22:43:31
HSINCHU, Taiwan (AP) — With Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections less than two weeks away, the island’s alternative party candidate Ko Wen-je is promoting a policy of patience toward China, which has been upping its threat to annex the island by force.
In the middle of a day of campaigning in the city of Hsinchu, home to many of Taiwan’s most prosperous technology firms, Ko took a half-hour lunch break to speak with The Associated Press in Mandarin Chinese and English, often expanding on his answers in his well-known erudite manner.
Ko, a surgeon and former mayor of the capital Taipei, likened the relationship between the sides to a tumor that should be left to itself while the sides engage in talks on a future relationship. “Thirty years ago, when I was a surgeon, if we found a tumor, we would try to remove it. But at this moment, we just try to live with it,” he said. China remains an issue that must be managed, without sparking a major confrontation between the sides, he said.
While Taiwan’s elections are largely determined by issues of social equity, employment, education and welfare, relations with China are always an overarching issue in presidential elections.
Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949 and the two remain politically at odds, even while their cultural ties remain strong and their economic relations a driver for global markets in high-technology. China sends navy ships and warplanes close to the island on daily basis.
Ko is chairman of the Taiwan People’s Party and has cooperated in the past with both the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, which strongly backs Taiwan’s state of de-facto independence, and the main opposition Nationalists, known as the Kuomintang or KMT, which holds that Taiwan and the mainland are part of a single Chinese nation while insisting on upholding the self-ruled island’s democracy in face of Chinese pressure
The TPP has been filling a space in between that has drawn strong support from younger voters unwilling to follow their parents’ political allegiances and are less sensitive to the cultural divide between those with longstanding ties to the island and others whose families migrated there during the civil war.
While Ko does not stir crowds in the same manner as traditional Taiwanese politicians, his drive and non-conformist manner have made him a significant player with those looking for a political alternative.
Ko described the relationship across the Taiwan Strait as one requiring risk management, along with deterrence and a will to communicate. “China doesn’t really wish to attack Taiwan, its own domestic problems being pretty serious,” Ko said. “But it does hope to take over Taiwan through economic means.”
He pointed to significant problems within China, which has seen a sharp slowdown in its economy and rising rates of joblessness among young people, along with a crisis in the crucial housing sector leaving construction sites empty even after families had spent their life savings on unbuilt apartments.
“China has no intention of going to war with Taiwan, but there is still a risk. Because China is a dictatorship, and ... most wars are unpredictable, so Taiwan still needs to be careful,” Ko said. “Deterrence and communication are very important. We must increase the cost of war (to China). However, we want to talk with (China).”
The presidential polls remain close, but the relatively new TPP lacks the financing and deeply established community bases of the DPP and KMT. Recent polls have shown Ko in third place, with the DPP’s candidate, current Vice President William Lai topping them.
veryGood! (1529)
Related
- Jerry Jones lashes out at question about sun's glare at AT&T Stadium after Cowboys' loss
- Sports Reporter Malika Andrews Marries Dave McMenamin at the Foot of Golden Gate Bridge
- SpaceX delays Polaris Dawn again, this time for 'unfavorable weather' for splashdown
- Memphis, Tennessee murder suspect crashes through ceiling as US Marshals search for him
- Wildfires burn from coast-to-coast; red flag warnings issued for Northeast
- Supreme Court rebuffs Biden administration plea to restore multibillion-dollar student debt plan
- US Open: Iga Swiatek and other tennis players say their mental and physical health are ignored
- Channing Tatum Accuses Ex Jenna Dewan of Delay Tactic in Divorce Proceedings
- Spirit Airlines cancels release of Q3 financial results as debt restructuring talks heat up
- Following protests, DeSantis says plan to develop state parks is ‘going back to the drawing board’
Ranking
- Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
- San Diego police identify the officer killed in a collision with a speeding vehicle
- Railroad BNSF stresses safety but is still held back by longstanding industry issues, report finds
- US Open: Iga Swiatek and other tennis players say their mental and physical health are ignored
- Democrat George Whitesides wins election to US House, beating incumbent Mike Garcia
- Who aced the NHL offseason? Grading all 32 teams on their moves
- How safe are luxury yachts? What to know after Mike Lynch yacht disaster left 7 dead
- New Jersey man drowns while rescuing 2 of his children in Delaware River
Recommendation
-
After entire police force resigns in small Oklahoma town, chief blames leaders, budget cuts
-
San Diego police identify the officer killed in a collision with a speeding vehicle
-
Searchers find a missing plane and human remains in Michigan’s Lake Huron after 17 years
-
Owners of Pulse nightclub, where 49 died in mass shooting, won’t be charged
-
Vikings' Camryn Bynum celebrates game-winning interception with Raygun dance
-
Instagram profiles are getting a musical update. Here's what to know
-
Kate Spade’s Must-See Novelty Shop: Viral Newspaper Clutch, Disney Collabs Up to 77% Off & More From $23
-
Auditor faults Pennsylvania agency over fees from Medicaid-funded prescriptions