He made the remarks in response to media queries about why he often criticizes Presidential Office Secretary-General and former Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) of the DPP, and whether criticizing the pan-blue and pan-green camps is part of his election strategy. On Friday, Ko said that one of the reasons Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, “escaped” from Kaohsiung to run for president was because of the high public debt left by Chen’s administration. Han on Sunday said that Kaohsiung has the most difficult financial situation in Taiwan, so he is grateful to Ko for always speaking up for him. Ko yesterday said that Chen should explain how the debt was created and how it affects the city’s administration. The city government led by Han has increased public debt by NT$6.4 billion (US$211.5 million) this year, he added.

Source: Taipei Times December 16, 2019 15:56 UTC