Taiwan's presidential nominee Ko Wen-je departs on visit to US

Taiwan People's Party (TPP) Chairman and 2024 presidential candidate Ko Wen-je departed on October 1 morning for a four-day, technology-oriented visit to the United States.

Speaking to reporters before departing at Taoyuan International Airport, Ko said his itinerary in the U.S. would be focused on educational technology, industrial applications of artificial intelligence, and learning how to connect Taiwan's innovative industries with Silicon Valley more effectively, Focus Taiwan reports.

The former Taipei mayor said that from a historical perspective, 2023 will be notable for the emergence of ChatGPT, which represents a milestone in how AI is used in human society.

In the coming years, these technologies will start driving "revolutionary changes" across society, he said.

Ko said that to solve Taiwan's longstanding problem of low salaries, it needs to take advantage of the current "AI wave" to help transition its economy into high-value-added industries.

According to an itinerary released by the TPP last week, Ko will arrive in San Francisco on the morning of October 1 (Pacific time) and attend a San Francisco-Taipei sister city welcome event and a forum on medical technology investment.

On October 2, Ko will tour an educational technology company, visit a think tank, and meet with Taiwanese students, before visiting an energy company and an electric vehicle company on October 3, the party said.

On the final day of his trip, Ko will travel to Los Angeles for another company visit and attend a launch event for supporters of his campaign in southern California, before departing for Taiwan early on October 5.

Ko previously visited the U.S. for 21 days in April, before being formally announced as the TPP's presidential nominee the following month.