Chang Chun-yen (張俊彥) announced his withdrawal as the nominee for Examination Yuan president yesterday, citing the harsh attacks on his integrity and qualifications by both lawmakers and the media.
Chang’s announcement came in the wake of the death of Polaris Securities Co (寶來證券) chairman Wayne Pai (白文正), whose body was found in Penghu on Friday.
Speculation is rife that Pai committed suicide because of a Next Magazine report earlier in the week alleging that Chang, a former president of National Chiao Tung University, took money from Polaris since 2004, after the university conferred an honorary doctorate on Pai.
“I did not [withdraw from the nomination process] because I could not take the pressure. I felt distressed by the media and political machinations that distort humanity,” Chang said yesterday in a written statement.
SORROW
Expressing his deep sorrow over losing a good friend like Pai, Chang said he had accepted the nomination from President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to serve the nation, but dirty politics prompted him to back out.
Chang said he was determined to finish the nomination process, but Pai’s death and “seeing how manipulative certain media outlets are” forced him to give up.
Chang said he would continue to make contributions to society, while vowing to seek justice for the damage to his reputation.
Ma nominated Chang last month to head the Examination Yuan, which is in charge of recruiting and managing the country’s civil servants.
However, some Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators had given Chang the cold shoulder because of his ties to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). He was an adviser to Chen in the run-up to the 2000 presidential election.
While Ma declined to comment yesterday on Chang’s statement when visiting Pingtung County, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said Ma had accepted Chang’s decision after failing to persuade him to change his mind.
Wang also defended Chang, saying he did not violate any law in serving as an adviser to Polaris.
Wang said Ma did not have a new nominee yet.
RESPECT
KMT deputy caucus whip Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) said yesterday that the caucus respected Chang’s decision.
Chang’s decision to withdraw in the face of accusations against him was the best decision for him, the Presidential Office and the country, he said.
“Chang is worthy of respect as he took the interests of the whole into account,” Wu said.
Wu said the public had a bad impression of Chang as he had failed to give clear accounts of the allegations leveled at him.
KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said Chang’s dropping out of the nomination could prevent damage to Ma’s authority as the KMT caucus was not impressed with Chang’s credentials.
“Ma’s staunch support for Chang could only worsen his relationship with the KMT caucus. Chang’s decision would stop things from getting worse,” she said.
The legislature had scheduled three days of question-and-answer sessions for 19 Examination Yuan members, including Chang and vice presidential nominee Wu Chin-lin (伍錦霖) this week, before holding a confirmation vote on Friday.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) said Chang’s decision was a right move.
William Lai (賴清德), another DPP caucus whip, said Chang had finally seen the true colors of the KMT — albeit a day too late.
Chang should have known that having family members who were victims of the 228 Incident is taboo with the KMT, Lai said, adding that KMT legislators hounded Chang because they could not accept his family background, a clear indication of the party’s ideology.
Lai said he believed Chang was a victim of a power struggle within the KMT.
Before the presidential election this March, KMT members had already come to an agreement on how power was to be shared and would not tolerate an outsider taking away some of that power, Lai said.
He said the KMT was in politics to pursue power rather than for ideological reasons.
The legislature will start its summer recess on July 18.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang and staff writer
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