Taipei's surgeon-mayor Ko Wen-je cuts to chase in first month
Taipei's new chief is speaking his mind, taking on tycoons and bringing down barriers
Some call him a loose cannon because of his frequent slips of the tongue, but to others he is a godsend who can finally revive Taipei.
One month into office, Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je remains as controversial as the time when he was running for the city's top job. And no one can say for sure what the city will become under his administration.
Ko, a high-flying surgeon who defeated Sean Lien Sheng-wen, son of former Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan, in the November 29 mayoral race, was sworn in to office on December 25.
"A change in Taipei should start with a change in the culture of the city government," Ko vowed shortly after he was inaugurated.
Ko's first order of business to city departments was to reassess the need for so many subscriptions to newspapers and magazines that he found in his office but had no time to read.
The new mayor then ordered all department heads and key officials to act swiftly in dealing with both office work and public affairs - a requirement one of his secretaries found so stressful that she resigned on Ko's second day in office.