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King retaliates against media reports

Presidential adviser Alice King says at a press conference yesterday that China Airlines employees and the media had damaged her reputation in two articles published earlier this year. The articles accused King of pressing to have her daughter and two grandchildren upgraded to first class. PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

Presidential adviser Alice King (金美齡) said yesterday that China Airlines employees and the media had damaged her reputation in two articles published earlier this year.

The articles accused her of demanding that her daughter and two grandchildren be upgraded to first class and of charging that the flight attendants on one of her trips could not speak Taiwanese.

King made the comments at a press conference yesterday and was accompanied by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Trong Chai (蔡同榮), Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Lin Kuo-hua (林國華).

King said the conflict began with her flight from Tokyo to Taipei on Jan. 1.

The allegations against her were made in an article published in Flyer, a newsletter for the union of China Airlines' flight attendants, as well as in an Apple Daily story on July 21 featuring an interview with union chairman Chang Hsueh-lien (張學廉).

King said the articles had unfairly represented her.

She confirmed that on Jan. 1, her seat was in first class while her daughter and two grandchildren had tickets for economy class. While the media had reported that she demanded an upgrade for her daughter and grandchildren after boarding, King said she had only asked if there was a chance for an upgrade if the flight was underbooked.

Furthermore, King said her daughter and grandchildren were not served meals. According to King, she had earlier asked a flight attendant to give the Caesar salad that came with her meal in first class to her daughter. Seeing the salad, another flight attendant had assumed that King's daughter and grandchildren had already been served.

When King questioned what had happened, the two flight attendants explained that they had not communicated over the meals because of language barriers.

King said that allegations that she had accused the flight attendants of not speaking Taiwanese were untrue. Her accusation was that they had been unable to communicate.

After hearing what King had to say, airline spokesman Roger Han (韓粱中) said the airline would work on improvements and thanked King for her support.

Han said he was unable to speak for the union but would investigate the matter.

Chang was not present at the press conference.

King criticized the media for making an issue of the flight.

"The media must abide by a standard of journalistic ethics. This is Taiwanese society's problem. Whoever gets the first word always seems to win. In Taiwan, you can be reckless with the truth, saying whatever you want," King said.

"I am especially angered with the flight attendants' response because the government is making efforts to promote tourism," she said.

"China Airlines' customer service is the first line of Taiwanese tourism. This is an international flight. Can't they at least speak English to each other? What kind of service is this?" King said.

King said that she was critical because she loved Taiwan.

She said she is currently organizing a music concert series in Japan called "Taiwan week."

According to documents King brought to the news conference, she has flown with China Airlines 152 times over the past 10 years.

She said she will continue to support the airline but wants the airline to improve.

King promised to get to the bottom of the ordeal.

Chai concluded the press conference by saying, "The customer is always right."
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