After all, King was working for Ma, a KMT party member, and his opponent in this game of brinkmanship was the Eastern Multimedia company, an affiliate of the Rebar Group, which is led by KMT heavyweight Wang Yu-tseng (
When asked if he had come under pressure from high-ranking KMT officials to support the conglomerate, King said: "I didn't think that far ahead before acting."
When asked if he had received any threats from outside, King's answer was evasive. "More or less," King said.
But he admitted it was Ma's "full support" that enabled him to challenge the violators so directly. "The key point was Ma's full support. He gave me a free hand in dealing with the issue," he said.
The support from city councilors was another factor. King said some opposition city councilors not only phoned him to express their support, but some even urged him on in his handling of the dispute.
Chou attributed King's actions to his clear choice of what he though was right.
Although King is a man with a gentle manner, Chou said King knows what persistence is. "Although some people said he was rather fierce [when handling the dispute], I think this only shows that he held fast to what he thought was right," she said.
"I think I am tough but fair," King said. "I know it's impossible to please everyone, but I am doing what I think is right."
Seeking to become an "expert in the cable TV industry" in his current post, King said he and his subordinates were preparing to study "thoroughly" the problems that currently exist in the cable TV industry before finding broad-ranging solutions to its chronic problems.
King, who claimed he disliked becoming a celebrity as it would deprive him of the pleasure of enjoying a public spa, still visited a spa for two hours after the dispute was settled on Jan. 5.
"I took a rest so that I am prepared to fight another battle," he said.
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