Ko eyes 'new democracy' at Hsinchu campaign rally

Taipei, Dec. 23 (CNA) Taiwan People's Party (TPP) presidential nominee Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Saturday vowed to end the political wrangling in Taiwan and bring "new democracy" to the country, at a rally in his hometown of Hsinchu.

Ko asked the crowd of several thousand at the Hsinchu Municipal Gymnasium to lobby for support from their family and friends for the party's legislative candidates, so that it can form a sizeable caucus at the legislature.

This would result in none of the country's three largest political parties -- the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT), and the nascent TPP -- achieving a legislative majority, Ko said.

According to Ko, this would be conducive to ending the often polarized confrontations between the DPP and the KMT, which would benefit the legislature's operations and set the country on a better path.

Noting that Hsinchu is home to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the Hsinchu Science Park, as well as National Tsing Hua University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, two of the country's finest universities in science and engineering, he vowed to reform Taiwan's education system so that it places greater emphasis on innovation and improving the digital literacy of future generations.

In other news, Ko said on Friday he had donated all profits generated from illegally renting out a piece of agricultural land in Hsinchu to construction and tour bus companies to the city government for social welfare and disaster relief uses.

TPP spokesman Adam Lee (李頂立) shared with the media photos of two bank transfer slips showing that Ko had transferred a total of NT$1.34 million (US$43,080) to the social welfare and disaster relief account managed by the Hsinchu City Department of Social Affairs.

According to the TPP, Ko will also address NT$30,000 in unpaid taxes accrued on the property.

According to the TPP, Ko and four other landowners had inherited the farmhouse from previous landowners in 2009 and had been collecting rent since, with Ko personally earning rental income totaling NT$1.07 million.

Meanwhile, the landowners in 2020 signed a contract with a tour bus operator who leased the property as its parking lot, and Ko's share of profit totaled NT$269,160, the TPP stated.

The TPP chairman on Dec. 19 terminated the contract with the tour bus operator, it said.

Also on Friday, Ko had excavators and other heavy machinery remove asphalt on the property after the city government threatened to fine him NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 for using the land for non-agricultural purposes.