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• Elections and Party Cooperation

  • Ko Wen-je(柯文哲) will apply to the court next Monday to participate in an event.
  • In Tainan, he campaigned for the Taiwan People's Party, TPP candidate Chen Szu-wei(陳思維) rather than directly for Hsieh Jung-chieh(謝榮介). If Hsieh Jung-chieh also supports Chen Szu-wei, he expressed gratitude.
  • For the 2026 Kaohsiung City Council elections, the Taiwan People's Party, TPP is adopting a conservative strategy. Except for two incumbent councilors in Hsinchu East District, they will generally nominate only one candidate per constituency to consolidate votes. Therefore, there is no "blue-white cooperation" issue with the Kuomintang, KMT.
  • Regarding the Kaohsiung mayoral election, if the Taiwan People's Party, TPP nominates its own candidate, they will support them; if not, Huang Kuo-Chang(黃國昌) and Cheng Li-Wun(鄭麗文) will discuss a cooperation mechanism.
  • Ko Wen-je criticized that the main reason for the failure of the 2024 "blue-white cooperation" was the lack of rules, such as poll concessions of 3% or 6%, which led to a chaotic process.
  • He advocates that Taiwan should establish a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for coalition governments, referencing cooperation models like Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito or the Nippon Ishin no Kai, by signing a political party agreement to ensure structured cooperation.
  • Ko Wen-je believes that every election should promote the progress of Taiwan's politics.
  • He refuted rumors that Tseng Pei-yu(曾佩玉) would run for Hsinchu Mayor, stating it is unsuitable and expressing confusion about it.

• Transportation and Urban Planning

  • Friendly City Vision: The seminar topic focused on creating a friendly city for the elderly, women, children, and people with disabilities, emphasizing the significance of Women's Day on March 8.
  • Road Design and Pedestrian Safety (Lin Yu-kai(林于凱))
    • Current Situation: Taiwan lacks friendly spaces for wheelchair users and stroller pushers. There was a sad incident where a girl in a wheelchair was reluctant to go out for fear of inconveniencing others, highlighting the need to build a society where wheelchair users do not need to apologize.
    • Kaohsiung Example: Elderly people are often forced to ride electric tricycles in traffic lanes, and their low profile makes them susceptible to being hit by turning vehicles, leading to multiple fatalities.
    • Kaohsiung Example: The crosswalk in the New Juejiang commercial district was impassable for wheelchairs due to poor central median design. It was only removed in August 2023 with the support of the new neighborhood chief. The old neighborhood chief opposed it, fearing that opening a gap would lead to illegal U-turns, but this is equivalent to restricting the right of way for the majority for the sake of a few lawbreakers.
    • Solution: Traffic design should be based on correct road habits, not sacrificing overall rights to prevent a few violations.
    • Ko Wen-je's Experience: As Taipei Mayor, he promoted alleyway management. If alleys under 6 meters were not marked with red lines, the neighborhood chief and councilor had to sign an undertaking to bear public accident responsibility, prioritizing public safety.
    • Implementation Difficulties: Resistance comes from changing old habits and some individuals' selfish behavior, such as only considering private parking spaces.
    • Communication Method: Through the role of "democratic engineer," continuously communicate and persuade those with different opinions, seeking mutual benefit rather than labeling and polarizing.
  • Accessible Public Transportation (Lin Yu-kai)
    • Current Situation: Buses often stop too far from bus stop platforms (often over 2 meters), while wheelchair ramps are only 1 meter, forcing wheelchair users to board and alight in fast lanes, which is very dangerous.
    • Kaohsiung Example: The bus stop opposite Kaohsiung United Hospital has poor design, with wheelchair ramps that are too steep and corners that are too sharp (almost right angles), making them unusable for wheelchair users. This forces them to travel against traffic in fast lanes, facing extremely high risks.
    • Ko Wen-je's Experience: Taipei MRT once had a gap of 11 cm between platforms and trains, making it difficult for strollers and wheelchairs to pass. Following media reports (promoted by Lin Yu-kai, comparing Japan's and Taipei's 8.5 cm standard), Kaohsiung MRT finally improved the gap to 8.5 cm by the end of 2023, catching up with Taipei (Taipei's improvement began during Ko Wen-je's mayoral term in 2020).
    • Solution: Urban progress requires attention to engineering design details, not just securing budgets. It should avoid the vicious cycle of scooters riding on sidewalks, leading to repeated damage and repair of facilities.
  • Integrated Transportation Information Platform (Lin Yu-kai)
    • Current Situation: Services like Kaohsiung Fookang Bus, disability taxis, accessible taxis, and mini-welfare vehicles have scattered booking methods, requiring manual phone scheduling, leading to difficult and time-consuming bookings.
    • Solution: Integrate all accessible transportation systems into a single information platform via an APP, allowing elders to book online, enhancing convenience.
    • Core Philosophy: Smart cities should leverage ICT for resource integration, making limited budgets more effective in providing a friendlier environment for women, children, elders, and people with disabilities.
  • Principles of Urban Governance (Ko Wen-je)
    • The simplest way to check if urban transportation is friendly is to push a wheelchair or stroller through it to discover problem areas.
    • Taiwan's poor traffic environment is due to a lack of long-term planning. Urban development requires 40 years or even longer, like Amsterdam's bicycle lanes which took 40 years.
    • Governance Belief: "Don't fantasize about changing this country in one day, but also don't fantasize that this country will change if you do nothing."
    • Taipei's Experience:
      • Moving crosswalks back 5 meters effectively reduces the accident rate of right-turning vehicles hitting pedestrians. SOP should be established, and newly drawn crosswalks should all adopt this standard, gradually transforming.
      • MRT platforms installed platform screen doors (40 stations, costing 600 million NTD, over many years).
      • MRT station escalators increased from one to at least two per exit (costing 600 million NTD, over many years).
      • Green pedestrian paths painted in alleys (Neighborhood Traffic Improvement Plan), reducing accident rates by 50% in the first year and 60% in the third year.
    • Data Management: Kaohsiung's per 100,000 population traffic fatality rate is more than three times that of Taipei, and Tainan's is four times. All traffic accident hotspots from the past decade should be marked on a map to specifically identify causes and improve (e.g., Yangde Avenue reduced accident rates by 70% in one year by sweeping small stones off the road).
    • Criticism of Officials: The current government lacks a "caring for the people" mentality, and officials often adopt an "it's none of my business" attitude, lacking execution.
    • Execution: The mayor should firmly issue orders, requiring the Transportation Bureau to establish and strictly enforce SOPs for bus bays, traffic lights, crosswalks, and other traffic infrastructure. Those who fail to comply should be punished. Through this approach, traffic problems can be gradually improved within a few years.
    • Complexity of Taiwan's Traffic: Roads need to accommodate cars, scooters, bicycles, and pedestrians simultaneously, making design more challenging than in the Netherlands (three types).
    • Political Culture: The core of politics is execution, and the people are the main body of politics.

• Social Welfare and Population Policy

  • Low Birth Rate Issue (Lin Yu-kai)
    • Low birth rate is a national security issue, and the key is supporting mothers' family lives.
    • He affirmed Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an's(蔣萬安) "reduced working hours for childcare" policy (government covering 80%, employer 20%) as symbolic and showing concern for the issue.
    • Assistance should be provided at all stages, from pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care, the first year, and the transition period for public preschools/daycares for 2-3 year olds, to show care and increase willingness to have children.
  • Long-term Care and Childcare Services (Ko Wen-je)
    • "Facing the problem is the first step to solving it": It is necessary to have data on 0-2 year olds, people with disabilities, etc., in each neighborhood to precisely understand local needs (infant care, preschool, after-school care, elderly day care centers, sheltered workshops).
    • Social Housing Policy: Require the 1st to 3rd floors to be public spaces, used for infant care centers, kindergartens, etc., according to local needs.
    • Promoting the "Strong Generation" Plan: Break the concept of retirement at 65, encourage healthy elders (current average female lifespan is 84) to continue working, such as after-school teachers, babysitters, to address low birth rates and long-term care needs.
    • Government Role: The government provides space, appropriate subsidies, encourages private sector participation in childcare and after-school services, and is responsible for management. Schools, due to low birth rates, have idle classrooms and are the best spaces.
    • Execution: If principals are unwilling to release space, communication and coordination should be pursued. If they do not cooperate, they should be replaced to firmly execute the policy.
    • The essence of politics is to solve the daily life problems faced by ordinary people, not to engage in empty talk about grand slogans like "resisting China and defending Taiwan."

• National Development and Industry

  • Kaohsiung Port Transformation (Ko Wen-je)
    • The decline in Kaohsiung Port's container throughput is not only a freight volume issue but also influenced by conflicts between national defense security and free port policies.
    • He criticized Lee Teng-hui's(李登輝) contradictory policies of the Asia-Pacific Operations Center in 1996 and "Go Slow, Be Patient," pointing out that developing a free port requires corresponding opening measures.
    • "Most is not necessarily best": It is not necessarily about pursuing the highest cargo volume; the goal is the best quality of life for the people. If night market culture can improve people's lives, there is nothing wrong with it.
    • Industrial Development: In the past 50 years, Taiwan's talent has concentrated in electrical engineering (semiconductor success) and medicine (clinical success, but biotechnology industry not successful). The development of the medical industry should be reviewed.
    • Learning from K.T. Li(李國鼎): The success of the semiconductor industry was due to the foresight and execution of K.T. Li and others, not just Morris Chang(張忠謀) alone. There is a current lack of "the next K.T. Li."
    • An environment that allows public policy discussions should be established, rather than pursuing only a single goal.
  • National Land Planning and Administrative Divisions (Ko Wen-je)
    • He criticized Taiwan's current 22 administrative divisions (especially the six special municipalities, Taipei encompassing New Taipei, Keelung and Hsinchu as provincial cities, etc.) as an "insane" design, indicating problems with national land planning that must be reformed.
    • Re-planning national land is a major undertaking requiring over ten years of long-term planning and execution (Lee Teng-hui proposed it in 2012, but it has not been implemented to this day).
    • The Taiwan People's Party, TPP's development in the south also requires time and long-term planning. Long-term political talents should be cultivated, emulating Japan's Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, to prepare for Taiwan 50 or 60 years from now.

• Social Values and Culture

  • Financial Management Education (Lin Yu-kai)
    • Ko Wen-je mentioned that many inmates have zero balances on their money cards, showing a lack of financial literacy at the social bottom.
    • Lin Yu-kai promotes the concept of "inclusive finance," training social workers and civics teachers, establishing a systematic financial management APP, teaching children financial concepts from a young age, and assisting disadvantaged families in establishing budgeting habits to avoid falling into debt.
    • Ko Wen-je added: This is a problem of education being disconnected from life. Basic education should teach people how to live, including fundamental financial management knowledge.
  • Social Violence and Discrimination (Ko Wen-je)
    • He mentioned an increase in cases of abused women and children, with protection orders failing, questioning how to solve social violence.
    • He reflected on Hitler's Holocaust and current Israeli actions against Palestinians, pointing out the cycle of hatred and collective unconscious acts of perpetration.
    • He criticized the Democratic Progressive Party, DPP for transforming from past victims into perpetrators, using populism to incite hatred.
    • Ko Wen-je revealed an internal Democratic Progressive Party, DPP poll showing that over 50% of Taiwanese believe that even if Chinese spouses obtain identity cards, they should not serve as Legislators, reflecting widespread discrimination against Chinese spouses in Taiwanese society.
    • He emphasized that when facing conflicts between mainstream public opinion and political values, one should adhere to values and not sacrifice fairness and justice due to populism. Chinese spouses who raise children and care for in-laws in Taiwan have done nothing wrong to Taiwan and should not be deprived of their right to participate in politics.
    • Ko Wen-je stated that the most important duty of a president is to unite the country, not to lead division and confrontation. Society should establish a benevolent culture, stop bullying the weak, otherwise, it will only breed more violence.
    • He believes that politicians should not encourage hatred but should strive to build a benevolent society.