Ending months of rumors, People First Party (PFP) Legislator Chang Show-foong (張曉風) resigned yesterday, dismissing speculation about possible reasons for her departure, but declined to give her own side of the story.
At a press conference, the legislator-at-large read out a statement saying that she had only one thing to say about her resignation, which was: “I quit, a simple subject followed by a simple verb.”
According to speculation, Chang could have resigned for various reasons. Some have suggested she resigned because she did not “fit” into the legislature, that she was “kidnapped” by environmental groups or that she was impatient with inefficiency in the legislative process.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
There was also a rumor that Chang was forced by the PFP to give her seat to Chen Yi-chieh (陳怡潔), an assistant professor of business management, to allow Chen to gain political experience in preparation for city council elections next year.
Chen Yi-chieh is the daughter of Independent Taipei City Councilor Chen Cheng-chung (陳政忠).
Whatever people have said about her, Chang said she will “let pass.”
Asked if she resigned of her own free will, Chang said a forced resignation was not possible.
A well-known writer, Chang in 2010 surprised many by kneeling in front of TV cameras to protest government’s plan to convert the Ministry of National Defense’s 202 Munitions Works into a biotech research park operated by Academic Sinica, a project which she said could jeopardize wetland ecology.
Chang said she would continue to push for legislation to protect the nation’s wetlands while remaining a legislative assistant and would also attend to other issues related to environment and culture in the party.
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