TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following trips by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Foxconn Technology founder Terry Gou (郭台銘), former Taipei City Mayor and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) will leave on a tour of the United States on Saturday (April 8).
His itinerary will include a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C., meetings with Taiwanese students and business people. There will also be visits to top universities such as Harvard, Boston, and Columbia, interviews with the U.S. media, a visit to Houston, and a baseball game in New York before returning to Taiwan on April 28, per TTV.
Explaining his motives for the trip, Ko told a news conference that it was necessary to understand the U.S. because it was a key strategic and economic partner for Taiwan, UDN reported. He also wanted to introduce the TPP as a third force in Taiwan politics between the “green” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the “blue” Kuomintang (KMT).
The TPP does not emphasize ideology, but relies on rational thinking, realism, and science, he said. Ko added that his party advocated cross-strait peace, while accusing the DPP of raising tension with China and the KMT of listening too much to Beijing.
Ko’s journey follows on the heels of President Tsai’s stopovers in New York and California on her way to and from allies Guatemala and Belize. The highlight of her trip was the April 5 meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
Gou, who is seeking the KMT nomination for president in the January 2024 election, spent eight days in the U.S. while emphasizing the role of technology and economic development in his plans for Taiwan.
