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Presidential election 2008: 4 days to go: MOE's Chuang apologizes for Ma jibe

Minister of Education Tu Cheng-sheng (杜正勝) yesterday publicly apologized for the conduct of the ministry's former secretary-general after he made derogatory remarks about the deceased father of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

During a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) campaign rally in Taichung on Sunday, Chuang Kuo-rong (莊國榮) insinuated that Ma's father, Ma Ho-ling (馬鶴凌), had affairs with several women and "screwed" his adopted daughter.

In an emergency press conference yesterday morning, Tu said Chuang's comments were "inappropriate" and apologized to the Ma family and the public for the remarks.

Tu stressed that "Professor Chuang's opinion does not represent that of the ministry or the administration."

Chuang tendered his resignation within hours of the Taichung rally and it was immediately approved by the minister.

He issued a statement last night, apologizing for his remarks.

"My public criticism of Ma Ho-ling turned into a personal attack. It was very inappropriate. I hereby apologize to Ma Ying-jeou and his family," the statement said.

Chuang also apologized to the public to "make up for the negative impact of this incident on society."

Chuang said he resigned because he had set a poor example by making the remarks as Ministry of Education (MOE) secretary-general.

He said he also felt sorry that his remarks had distracted the attention of the media, which in turn "ignored many touching stories" during the rally.

Cabinet Speaker Shieh Jhy-wey (謝志偉) said it was regrettable that Chuang made such a derogatory slur, but stressed that Chuang's position as MOE secretary-general was not a Cabinet-appointed position. Therefore, anything Chuang said should not be interpreted as the opinion of the administration, he said.

Chuang served as a public administration professor at National Chengchi University prior to his temporary post at the MOE. He is scheduled to return to his teaching position in May.

It was reported that the university is having second thoughts about allowing Chuang to resume his teaching job and is expected to hold a meeting to discuss the matter.

DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) also apologized to Ma over Chuang's remarks yesterday.

"I am calling for an end to any attacks on Ma's father and any other of his family members," Hsieh said.

Hsieh said he believed Ma was not behind attacks on his wife, mother and brother-in-law.

Neither did Hsieh believe Ma had instructed supporters to take down Hsieh's campaign flags and sprinkle ghost money at one of his campaign offices.

"We are competitors, not enemies," he said. "After the election, we will co-exist and cooperate with each other. We will work together to speak for Taiwan and protect this country."

In response, Ma said: "I'm willing to accept Mr Hsieh's apology and his call for a halt to negative campaigning. We made the same call on March 6, but some people just can't stop themselves."

Ma said he believed the public would pass its own judgment on Chuang's remarks.

Earlier yesterday, the KMT caucus demanded Chuang apologize to Ma, Ma's family and the public.

KMT Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who attended the conference, urged voters to boycott the DPP, saying that the party had turned a blind eye to Chuang's past "controversial behavior" and remarks.

KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) questioned Chuang's decision to resign but not to apologize, saying that Chuang tendered his resignation out of fear that his remarks could impact Frank Hsieh's electoral performance.

Additional reporting by Flora Wang, Ko Shu-ling and Rich Chang
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