After suffering a setback in last December's local elections, former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Tsai Huang-liang (
Tsai, 46, served as legislator for 10 years after winning his first election in 1995 in his hometown Nantou County.
Last year Tsai resigned from his legislative seat in order to run for the job of Nantou County commissioner as the DPP's candidate.
However, the then incumbent, Lin Tsung-nan (
The Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) candidate Lee Chao-ching (
While Lin announced that he was withdrawing from political life after being defeated in the election, Tsai was not willing to give up his political ambitions.
However, many find it surprising that Tsai agreed to take over the jobs of DPP spokesman and director of the party's Department of Culture and Information as a member of the newly installed Chairman Yu Shyi-kun's team.
Many veteran reporters who cover the legislative beat and are familiar with Tsai felt pity when they heard Tsai would take the DPP post. Some said that Tsai would be "wasting his talent on a petty job."
"Tsai is one of the most active and eloquent legislators that the DPP has and turned in impressive performances in combatting KMT legislators' attacks while serving as a DPP caucus whip for the last three legislative terms," one veteran reporter said.
"Tsai even won the name `the ablest caucus whip' in the Legislative Yuan," the reporter said.
Tsai's good friend, DPP Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (
A greeting card accompanying a flower basket sent by Hsiao to Tsai's new DPP office reads "people who can take temporary setbacks will have a promising future."
Reacting to friends' concerns, Tsai said that he took up his new office calmly and composedly.
"Some people would say that I was humiliated by coming into the DPP's headquarters, but I don't look at things that way," Tsai said with a smile. "We can always show our abilities in a new position and, of course, learn news things as well."
"What I need to do now is to rebuild the DPP's image and try my best to defend the DPP's new policies and explain our reform goals to the public," he said.
"No matter where I am, I'll play my role well and be who I am," Tsai said.
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