Gou, Ko and People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) yesterday shared the stage at a campaign event in New Taipei City to show their support for Gou’s aide and TPP legislative candidate Lee Chin-ying (李縉穎). As Ko arrived at the event later than Gou and Soong, he was the last to speak. He called on voters to support Lee Chin-ying, saying: “Giving Lee Chin-ying a chance means giving Taiwan and everyone a chance.”As everyone on stage began chanting slogans in support of Lee Chin-ying, Gou suddenly said he wanted to say something. Chairman Ko has never said ‘those pursuing Taiwanese independence are all trash.’”Ko only criticized a specific pro-independence advocate because his family has all immigrated to New Zealand, yet he still holds fundraising banquets in Taiwan every year, the statement said. Separately yesterday, Ko said he had never said that “those pursuing Taiwanese independence are all trash.”“Some of those people pursuing Taiwanese independence are liars, but not all of them are liars,” he said, adding that he still admires people who hold on to their beliefs, like Taiwanese independence advocate Su Beng (史明) did.
