Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday acknowledged that he has a personal relationship with tycoon Liao Wan-long (廖萬隆), a former member of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee who reportedly has close ties with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Liao, 74, is known as the “King of Taiwan Tungsten Carbide,” with an estimated personal worth of about NT$50 billion (US$1.8 billion).
Ko said that he and Liao have a normal relationship as friends.
Private donations are vital financial sources for political parties and all the donations that the TPP receives are legal, Ko said,