Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) yesterday apologized following media reports of an alleged extramarital affair with a close aide, which could possibly deal a blow to his hopes of running for New Taipei City mayor next year.
Media reports showed photographs and videos of Lo and his office deputy director, Nien Pei-ying (粘珮瑩), allegedly checking into a hotel twice this month.
Lo’s apology came as soon as the stories were released, but he did not confirm or deny going to a hotel with Nien.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
“I want to offer my most sincere apology to my family, my supporters and the public for the frustration and confusion caused by my personal affairs,” he said.
“I explained the whole incident to my family last night, and I was given trust and understanding,” he said.
He said his wife, former singer Chen Liang-yin (陳亮吟), remained confident in him and believed that he had not been unfaithful.
Asked if she had forgiven him, Lo said: “There was no so-called forgiveness … [she] simply believes in me.”
“My wife believes that I did not do it,” he added.
Lo said the situation with Nien was a private matter that did not need to be discussed publicly, but a reorganization of office staff was likely.
Reiterating that he needed more time to deal with the fallout, he said he would announce later whether there would be any change to his plans to seek the DPP nomination for New Taipei City mayor.
He ruled out the possibility that the scandal was a “setup” by political rivals to undermine his image and career.
Lo has been seen as a leading contender, along with Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and former premier Yu Shyi-kun, while DPP legislators Wu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) and Gao Jyh-peng (高志鵬) are also potential candidates.
Lo was yesterday scheduled to talk about the mayoral election during a live radio interview, but abruptly canceled his appearance.
Lo is a former academic known for his experience in social movements and media. Although a first-term legislator, he has led other DPP rivals, except for Lai and Yu, in opinion polls.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without