Taipei Times
Date: Aug 28, 2018
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday refused to sign a referendum petition to change

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je speaks to reporters at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.  Photo: CNA

the name the nation would use at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan,” saying that he respects the campaign, but as he is the head of a local government, he would refer to the central government’s stance on the issue.

Ko, who has been taking public buses to Taipei City Hall in the morning since October last year to help promote the use of public and sustainable transport, was approached by a man wearing a blue vest reading: “Team Taiwan Campaign for 2020 Tokyo Olympics.”

“Mayor, are you willing to sign the petition?” the man asked as he tried to approach Ko at a bus stop, but was blocked by three bodyguards who accompany the mayor on his way to work. “Mayor, do you have any thoughts on this issue?”    [FULL  STORY]