Hou, Ko trade barbs at open discussions on presidential ticket
ROC Central News Agency
11/23/2023 08:55 PM
Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Kuomintang (KMT) presidential nominee Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Thursday trade barbs over who should top a joint presidential ticket at an open discussion broadcast live.
During the open discussion held at the Grand Hyatt Taipei hotel in front of media cameras, Hou -- accompanied by KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT -- and Ko, blamed each other for the failure to decide the order of the ticket, with only one day remaining before presidential hopefuls have to register their intention to run in the upcoming election.
Chu reiterated the party's reading of the public polls both sides agreed to use at the party-to-party negotiation on Nov. 15 to determine the order of the ticket, saying the polls showed a favorable result for a Hou-Ko ticket based on the agreement reached.
The TPP and KMT on Nov. 15 appeared to have struck an agreement on how to use polling data to decide the composition of a joint presidential ticket.
However, talks between three polling experts appointed by the TPP and KMT to evaluate the polls, broke down on Nov. 18 following a dispute over how the polling data should be assessed.
Despite the differences on assessing the polls, "they showed that either a Hou-Ko or a Ko-Hou ticket will win the election. If that was not the case, we wouldn't be here," said Chu, suggesting the two sides should discuss collaboration without dwelling on the dispute over the polls.
Rejecting Chu's point, Ko said the purpose of collaboration is to form the "strongest ticket" with the best chance of defeating the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
Given that the polls clearly indicated which ticket would be the strongest, referring to a Ko-Hou ticket, Ko said, "not going with the ticket was clearly for their own (KMT) benefit."
Hou urged Ko to abide by the Nov. 15 agreement, which was signed by him, Ko, Chu and former President Ma as a witness.
"Having a principle of integrity is essential in one's conduct, especially for a leader," Hou said.
Hou also denied he had ever requested that a poll in which a Ko-Hou ticket led a Hou-Ko ticket by "less than 6 percent" should be considered as being in his favor, as Ko has repeatedly stated since Nov. 18, adding that the claim by Ko was an "insult."
The open discussion lasted about 90 minutes, ending at around 6:30 p.m. due to the expiration of the venue rental time. Hou approached Ko, extended his hand and the two men shook hands.
Terry Gou (郭台銘), an independent presidential aspirant, who initially joined Hou and Ko on the stage, quickly excused himself from the meeting shortly after the discussion started.
The open discussion at the Grand Hyatt Taipei hotel occurred at the invitation of Ko, with Gou arriving first and Hou arriving later in the afternoon at 4:46 p.m., accompanied by former President Ma Ying-jeou and KMT Chairman Eric Chu.
Gou's office had originally arranged for Hou to attend a three-way meeting of the three presidential candidates in a room on the 25th floor of the hotel, but Hou insisted that the meeting be held in public, with both Ma and Chu in attendance. The open discussion eventually took place in a conference room on the third floor of the hotel and was broadcast live by media outlets.
Following the open discussion, with no consensus reached, Gou said he had hoped for a better ending, "but the sun will rise again tomorrow."
The deadline for presidential candidacy registration is set to close at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
(By Shih Hsiu-chuan)
Enditem/AW
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