Taipei Times
Date: May 10, 2018
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has apologized for his controversial “two sides of the Strait are one family” statement and said that he would support President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) if she runs for re-election in 2020.

Ko’s criticism of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government and his remarks that some feel are “pro-China” have led to speculation that the DPP might choose to run its own candidate for Taipei mayor in November instead of supporting Ko as it did in 2014.

Interviewed on Tuesday by GreenPeace Broadcasting Station host Chen Yue-hsin (陳雨鑫) for a show that aired last night, Ko said he first made the “two sides of Strait are one family” remark at twin-city forum in Shanghai in 2015.

With Taipei set to hold the Summer Universiade last year, Ko said he wanted to “express friendliness” toward China and try to reduce its obstruction, so he repeated it at last year’s twin-city forum.    [FULL  STORY]