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Lu faults Presidential Office in budget spat

The residence on Tai-an Street in Taipei City to where aides in the Presidential Office have suggested that Vice President Annette Lu move. PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES

The spat over Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) housing raged on yesterday as Lu's office faulted the media crew of the Presidential Office for failing to respect her in coping with the controversy.

Meanwhile, the opposition-controlled legislature, which has a decisive say on where Lu may take up residence for the remainder of her term, expressed mixed views, with some advising humility and others labeling her as the victim of a power struggle.

"The office regrets the ongoing controversy over the vice president's housing, which has created the impression of disunity within the Presidential Office," said a statement released by the vice president's office yesterday.

"It defies common sense that budgeting officials should have ignored the vice president when planning the budget for her housing. They should have consulted her office before turning it in to the legislature for review," the statement said.

The controversial budget includes NT$5.5 million in annual rental costs for the plush apartment Lu is living in and an additional NT$3.57 million intended to furnish a three-story building in case the legislature denies the budget for the apartment.

But opposition lawmakers have accused the Presidential Office of loose budgeting and threatened to strike down both.

"When the uproar broke out, the presidential secretary-general and aides should have taken the initiative and explained the entire matter to the vice president," the statement said. "Rather, they have provided the press with misleading information in an obvious attempt to blur the issue."

On Monday, presidential aides called a news conference, maintaining Lu knew of the relocation plan and that her approval is not necessary for the proposed purchase of redwood furniture.

"The furniture will be used by whoever occupies the government-owned residence on Tai-an Street, not just the sitting vice president alone," said Liu Chih-chieh (劉志傑), a presidential aide who prepared the budget for Lu's housing.

But Lu took the comments as being critical of her, saying they have sharpened the public perception that she does not get along with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).

"The presidential secretary-general, charged with coordinating internal affairs, should play the role of a mediator," the statement said. "But the past 10 months have seen ties between the president and vice president estranged, distorted and damaged."

While insisting she has been mistreated, Lu said she would remove herself from the dispute for the sake of national interests.

Later in the day, New Party lawmaker Elmer Fung (馮滬祥), who has recently led a Lu-bashing campaign, pressed the vice president to move to the Tai-an residence this year to save taxpayers a sizable sum.

"By renting an apartment that costs NT$460,000 each month, Lu sets a very bad example when the government is struggling to cure the ailing economy," Fung said while making a tour of the Tai-an residence.

The three-story building is located in downtown Taipei. It has a living room, a dinning room and a kitchen on the first floor, four bedrooms and a study on the second floor and a workout room on the third floor. The 435m2 home also comes with five bathrooms, two parking spaces, two storage rooms and front and back yards.

But Lu dislikes the house on the grounds it is located in a crowded neighborhood.

KMT lawmaker Mu Ming-chu (穆閩珠) voiced sympathy for Lu, saying the DPP government is apparently prejudiced against the vice president because of her gender.
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