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Newsmakers: DPP legislator sidestepping problems in his private life

DPP Legislator Cheng Yu-chen, in and out of the legislature since 1980, has been evading questions about his private life. TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

Little known outside of political circles, DPP Legislator Cheng Yu-chen (鄭余鎮) has recently made headlines as a gossip-hungry media try to pry into his alleged affair with a female aide.

Laconic and low-key, Cheng has played hide-and-seek with friends and reporters over the past week, wistfully thinking that the uproar would soon die down on its own.

"I hope the media will quit focusing on the issue. It is purely personal," he said in a brief statement issued Thursday evening. The lawmaker had planned to hold a news conference that afternoon but called it off without an explanation.

His alleged relationship with his aide drew intensive media attention Tuesday when Cheng's wife, Lu Pei-ying (呂珮茵), unexpectedly appeared in her husband's legislative office, saying that she wanted to help serve his constituents.

`Stoic sufferer'

It is said that Lu, acting on advice of family members, decided to stand up to Cheng's alleged mistress, Wang Hsiao-chan (王筱蟬), rather than play a "stoic sufferer."

"Qualified or not, [Cheng Yu-chen's wife] Lu has the right to visit her husband in the legislature. No pass is necessary."

An aide to DPP Legislator Cheng Yu-chen

"From now on, you can expect to see a lot of me," Lu told reporters. "No one asked me to. I made the decision myself."

She seated herself behind a small desk and answered phones while her husband was on a trip to China accompanied by Wang.

During a telephone interview, Wang criticized Lu as unqualified for the job and suggested the legislature's security guards block Lu's entry.

"Lu is not a registered worker and should not be allowed to enter the legislature," said Wang, whose romance with former presidential secretary-general John Chang (章孝嚴) put a temporary stop to the latter's political career in 1999.

Lu insists she is familiar with the tasks of the job, saying she has been helping Cheng since they got married 30 years ago.

Chang Sheng-chuan (章勝娟), another aide of Cheng's, said that she found Wang's criticism ridiculous. "Qualified or not, Lu has the right to visit her husband in the legislature. No pass is necessary."

And so the standoff between the two women shows no sign of ending.

Lu has continued to show up at the legislature, while her husband and Wang, who returned to Taipei on Wednesday, have stayed away.

Unfazed

Though the lawmaker denied having a romantic relationship with his aide, cameras outside of Wang's apartment building showed the two leaving and getting into into a white sedan on Thursday.

Cheng, unfazed by the gossip that he implied was fueled by family members who do not understand the situation, has said he will continue to employ Wang.

Friends and supporters, however, express apprehension that the extramarital affair may hurt Cheng's political career.

Decade of misfortune

A native of Taipei County, Cheng, 56, whose family exerts significant influence in the Hsinchuang area, experienced a decade of political misfortune before making a comeback by winning a legislative seat last December.

In 1977, he was elected as Hsinchuang's town chief and later became the mayor of Hsinchuang when the district was upgraded to city status. In 1980, he won a legislative seat representing Taipei County and managed to win a second term three years later. During that time, Cheng did not belong to a political party.

Shih Ming-ching (施明進), one of Cheng's vote captains, said the lawmaker's alleged affair has harmed his image. He urged Cheng to sack Wang, saying that the controversy has alienated many of his supporters.

"He must not allow a woman to damage his political career for a second time," Shih said.

Joining the DPP

In 1986, Cheng lost his bid to win a third legislative term and joined the DPP the next year to steer its Taipei County chapter.

In 1989 Cheng again campaigned for a seat in the legislature and won. During the next three years, he had his share of physical bouts with KMT law-makers when brawls were a hallmark of legislative culture.

After losing his seat in 1992, Cheng repeatedly sought to return to the legislature but was unsuccessful until last year.

Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余正憲), head of the DPP's Justice Alliance faction, of which Cheng is a member, said he has tried to contact Cheng last week but to no avail. He said Cheng would not answer his mobile phone, whose voicemail box is jam-packed with messages.

DPP headquarters has also received many phone calls from people wanting to protest Cheng's alleged infidelity.

But DPP Deputy Secretary-General Michael You (游盈隆) said that the party is not in a position to interfere with its members' domestic affairs.

Another party worker, who declined to be named, describes the criticism as hypocritical, saying that the party does not have an anti-adultery clause in its charter.

Cheng's alleged romance promises to add strength to the notion that the legislature is prone to scandal.
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