Taipei city councilors of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday charged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) of having received a massage by a sighted person a day after Premier Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) apologized for the same offense.
Taking their charge directly to a beauty parlor located on Zhongxiao East Road Section 4, they claimed Lien had frequented, DPP Councilors Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), Lu Ying-ying (呂瀅瀅) and Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) urged Lien to come forward and explain himself.
Wang pointed to a poster on the wall of the parlor showing sighted female staff, saying the parlor, "blatantly employs individuals with normal eyesight as masseurs."
"Since the parlor provides massage by masseuses who are not visually-impaired, Lien, who frequents this parlor, should come forth and explain whether he had received service by [these] sighted masseuses," Yen said.
The charge against Lien came after it was exposed that Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) has received a sighted massage.
It is against the law for people with vision to work as a masseur or a masseuse. Relevant laws stipulate that only individuals with impaired vision can work as masseurs and imposes fines of up to NT$30,000 to violators.
Acknowledging that the two masseurs who provided their service to him can see, Yu apologized on Wednesday for not following regulations.
The parlor was closed yesterday when a Taipei City Councilor Chou Pen-yu (周本裕) visited. Accompanied by officials from the Taipei City Government's Bureau of Social Affairs, Chou told the city councilors that the shop had just the night before been fined for having employed unlicensed masseuses on Thursday.
Denying the city councilors' charge, KMT spokeswoman Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said "the accusation was ridiculous."
Lien's wife Lien Fang Yu (連方瑀) also refuted the claim, saying that her husband does not have a habit of receiving massages.
"[Lien] relives pressure by engaging in exercise," she said.
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