Print

Mail

wiki links

First boyfriend defends himself against gossip

Chao Chien-min (趙建銘), the president's future son-in-law, said yesterday that he was "baffled" over recent rumors that he had used privilege to avoid a medical internship in Yilan County and to drive an official car bearing a presidential office pass.

In an exclusive interview with the local Chinese media yesterday, Chao, a physician at National Taiwan University Hospital, said that he had postponed his one-month internship at the Lotung township hospital in Ilan County only because his father is preparing to undergo surgery to remove a tumor in his liver.

"I don't understand why people accuse me of utilizing privilege to shun the internship when I simply postponed it to take care of my father," he was quoted as saying.

Chao had been scheduled to start the internship on June 1, but failed to show up.

"Although I didn't end up going this month, I'll go there by the end of the year," he said.

Chao also showed anger while discussing the inaugural issue of a controversial magazine, Next, which features a picture of him holding hands with his fiancee, first daughter Chen Ching-yu (陳幸妤) on the front.

In the cover story, one of his jilted ex-girlfriends accuses him of dumping her to find someone who could help him advance his career.

A lawmaker recently raised accusations against Chao in the legislature, saying that Chao had been photographed by the magazine driving an official car bearing a Presidential Office pass.

Echoing a written statement released by the Presidential Office on Friday, Chen said that he did not use the car for personal purposes.

The car is an official vehicle meant for Chen's use.

"It just so happened that she asked me to pick her up at work ... I just don't know why people make such a big fuss about it," he said.
This story has been viewed 2717 times.