Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yi-shih (
"Half of the county was flooded but the commissioner flew to Japan for a so-called `official' visit. This is unacceptable and unbelievable," Lin said.
Lin made his remarks during a press conference yesterday morning. Yang, who was accompanied by his friends and county government officials, flew to Japan on July 19 on a five-day trip, one day after the typhoon devastated the country, apparently on an official visit regarding potential agricultural cooperation between Japan and Taiwan.
Yang is scheduled to hold a press conference tomorrow when he returns to announce the results of his trip.
But according to Lin, Yang's trip to Japan was a pleasure tour in which the official did some sightseeing and visited hot springs.
In addition, taxpayer dollars paid for some members' trips, Lin claimed.
"This is ridiculous. Kaohsiung people need him right here, right now. But Yang flew away to promote local agricultural products. Should that have taken precedence at the time?" Lin said.
"Both the people of Kaohsiung and Yang got soaked," Lin said. "Yang took a soak in Japanese hot springs while the people of Kaohsiung got soaked by the floods."
Although he is currently still in Japan, Yang immediately rebutted Lin's accusations in a phone interview yesterday afternoon. He said his trip was in the interests of the nation and that his schedule was filled with business meetings. He added that it was impossible for him to spare time to visit hot springs.
"The purpose of this trip is to promote Kaohsiung's produce and attract more Japanese fruit importers to purchase Kaohsiung's fruit," Yang said. "I'm so busy it's not possible for me to do any recreational activities."
Yang said that his trip to Japan was planned well before the typhoon hit Taiwan. According to the initial plan, Yang and his delegates were supposed to take off on July 18. However, the schedule was delayed because of the typhoon. He has also been in regular contact with Deputy Commissioner Wu Yu-wen (
"Everything is under control," Yang said. "It's a shame that some lawmakers go out of their way to make false accusations against me when they don't really know what is going on. I am deeply sorry for that."
In the meantime, Yang's secretary Huang Fu-sheng (
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