Ko Wen-je

“Whatever I do, if people see me in a certain light, then they will always judge me in that light. Their impressions and perceptions will never change.”

“It seems like everybody is forcing me to run for president.”

“Cooperation is more important than reunification. If reunification is achieved without cooperation, it will be meaningless.”

“The country has been shaken up by me. I am just being myself.”

“We are nicer to Muslims than any other country.”

“In our society, no one dares to be themselves.”

“I've been to Vietnam and mainland China. Even though the Vietnamese are seemingly poor, they always stop in front of red traffic lights and walk in front of green ones. Even though mainland China's GDP is higher than that of Vietnam, if you ask me about culture, the Vietnamese culture is superior.”

“Nobody knows this, but my hero is Che Guevara. Why? Because he was magic. He was a hero. Che resisted. He fought against the system.”

“Relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait are like those of a family.”

“The rise of civic society is not a negation of politics, but marks an opportunity for the involvement of the people.”

“Doing the right things is more important than doing things right.”

“What is one China? You have to tell me what one China looks like. If a girl is to marry into another family, you have to tell her what that family is like.”

“For the world's four Chinese-speaking regions - Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China - the longer the colonization, the more advanced a place is.”

“There's nothing wrong with officials taking the subway. Why is this unusual? So people talked about 'one country, two systems,' but maybe we should talk about 'two countries, one system' instead. We should try to narrow the gap.”

“What matters is the well-being of the people.”

“When we understand and respect Beijing's insistence on some aspects, we hope Beijing can understand and respect Taiwan's insistence on democracy and freedom.”

“Cross-strait engagement must be consistent and guided by a stable policy with respect for past interaction and agreements signed by the two sides.”

“The area I hope we can learn most from Singapore is in the productivity and efficiency of its public servants.”

“I do what I like to do.”

“Politics isn't that difficult; it is about finding your conscience again. So, just do what is right.”