In tears, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice presidential candidate Jennifer Wang (王如玄) yesterday apologized to the public over her “investments” in military housing units, while stressing that all the transactions were legal and that she is concerned about issues that affect people from disadvantaged groups, though a look at her political career shows just the opposite.
In the past couple of weeks, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has questioned Wang’s dealings in military housing units in Taipei and New Taipei City, alleging that she and her husband have been involved in property speculation involving as many as 19 military housing units.
In a press conference at KMT headquarters yesterday afternoon, Wang admitted that she had bought and sold military housing units as an “investment,” but said that the number of units had been exaggerated.
Wang apologized to the public and her supporters for causing such a controversy with her personal “investment arrangements,” and shed tears as she explained how her family had been affected by criticism in the media.
Wang said several times that she has always been concerned about the disadvantaged, whether acting as a lawyer or serving in government positions, adding that she had agreed to become KMT presidential candidate Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) running mate because she wanted to contribute more to society.
Ironic, very ironic.
Military housing units were built for military personnel who followed the KMT regime into exile in Taiwan after it lost the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese Communist Party after the end of World War II.
Although high-ranking military officers were also allocated housing units, the majority who were granted the units were low-ranking troops and their families, who would otherwise have had no place to live in Taiwan.
Today, there are still veteran KMT troops living in disadvantaged conditions and having a hard time finding a place to call home.
At the press conference, Wang was asked if she was aware that a veteran who sold her a military housing unit was now living in poverty in Changhua County. Wang replied that she could not be expected to know the story of every seller, adding that all those who dealt with her did so voluntarily and that both sides were happy when the deals were completed.
More irony.
If Wang is concerned about the disadvantaged, she should know not to “invest” in military housing units because these are supposed to be public housing for disadvantaged veterans and their families, and investment activity in any form would inflate prices, making it impossible for those who are in need to purchase the units.
Wang likened the DPP’s criticism to a form of “political murder,” but perhaps she should be reminded that, when she served as Council of Labor Affairs minister, she showed no mercy when using NT$20 million (US$605,382 at current exchange rates) of taxpayers’ money to hire lawyers to file suits against elderly laid-off workers, mostly economically disadvantaged and many of them in bad health.
Did Wang shed tears for them?
No.
Did Wang ever think of the suffering that those laid-off workers would have to deal with when they were being pursued by the state?
Probably not.
Wang needs to respond to criticism with more sincerity and honesty, and stop pretending to be someone she is not.
Chinese actor Alan Yu (于朦朧) died after allegedly falling from a building in Beijing on Sept. 11. The actor’s mysterious death was tightly censored on Chinese social media, with discussions and doubts about the incident quickly erased. Even Hong Kong artist Daniel Chan’s (陳曉東) post questioning the truth about the case was automatically deleted, sparking concern among overseas Chinese-speaking communities about the dark culture and severe censorship in China’s entertainment industry. Yu had been under house arrest for days, and forced to drink with the rich and powerful before he died, reports said. He lost his life in this vicious
George Santayana wrote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This article will help readers avoid repeating mistakes by examining four examples from the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces and the Republic of China (ROC) forces that involved two city sieges and two island invasions. The city sieges compared are Changchun (May to October 1948) and Beiping (November 1948 to January 1949, renamed Beijing after its capture), and attempts to invade Kinmen (October 1949) and Hainan (April 1950). Comparing and contrasting these examples, we can learn how Taiwan may prevent a war with
A recent trio of opinion articles in this newspaper reflects the growing anxiety surrounding Washington’s reported request for Taiwan to shift up to 50 percent of its semiconductor production abroad — a process likely to take 10 years, even under the most serious and coordinated effort. Simon H. Tang (湯先鈍) issued a sharp warning (“US trade threatens silicon shield,” Oct. 4, page 8), calling the move a threat to Taiwan’s “silicon shield,” which he argues deters aggression by making Taiwan indispensable. On the same day, Hsiao Hsi-huei (蕭錫惠) (“Responding to US semiconductor policy shift,” Oct. 4, page 8) focused on
In South Korea, the medical cosmetic industry is fiercely competitive and prices are low, attracting beauty enthusiasts from Taiwan. However, basic medical risks are often overlooked. While sharing a meal with friends recently, I heard one mention that his daughter would be going to South Korea for a cosmetic skincare procedure. I felt a twinge of unease at the time, but seeing as it was just a casual conversation among friends, I simply reminded him to prioritize safety. I never thought that, not long after, I would actually encounter a patient in my clinic with a similar situation. She had
RSS