If Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) is a believer in the old adage that “there is no such thing as bad publicity,” then he has certainly succeeded on the campaign trail by fielding former Council of Labor Affairs minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) as his running mate.
The moment Chu raised Wang’s hand at a news conference on Nov. 18 and announced he had offered to her the vice presidential ticket, Wang has not stopped generating media coverage.
Wang has been the biggest headline-grabber for the past couple of weeks, stealing the limelight from Chu.
Indeed, there appears to be no shortage of controversies coming her way.
First, there was her handling of workers in 2012, when, during her stint as labor minister, she filed lawsuits against laid-off workers who had not repaid loans provided by the council in 1997 in lieu of severance and retirement payments owed by their employers. The lawsuits sparked a series of protests, including a demonstration in 2013 that saw protesters lying on the tracks at Taipei Railway Station.
Second, Wang has been accused of initiating an unpaid-leave system during her time as minister.
Third, there was her notorious title, “mother of the 22K,” which she was given by netizens in response to the government’s implementation of the “22K policy” in 2009, which sought starting salaries of NT$22,000 for university graduates. The policy has been blamed for playing a part in dragging down overall starting salaries.
New items on Wang’s controversy-ridden record keep cropping up. Missing from a list of her education credentials is a doctorate in law from Renmin University in Beijing, with her time there described by critics as “studying law in a country where the rule of law is absent,” while Wang has also been engulfed in allegations that over the past decade she has profited handsomely from speculative purchases of housing units transformed from old quarters for military dependents.
However, worst of all the controversies and allegations dogging Wang is the way she presents herself, appearing unable to provide a clear explanation to queries.
It is no sin for politicians to have wealth, but Wang — who has embraced the title of human-rights lawyer — must prove that the assets she amassed have nothing to do with politics nor exploitation of legal loopholes.
Regrettably, so far Wang’s responses have been like squeezing toothpaste out of a tube, giving short and incomplete statements that only invite more questions and suspicion.
In case Wang and Chu’s campaign team has not noticed, her failure to provide timely and clear answers to allegations risks not only damaging her own credibility, but also fueling public doubt over whether the KMT ticket has the moral integrity, competence and sense of judgement it takes to run a nation.
Wang has insisted that all her housing transactions were legal. However, as a politician running for vice president, she needs to keep in mind that while legality might be a suitable standard to apply to some people, the public will certainly use higher standards to scrutinize her.
Most importantly, “attitude determines altitude.” Wang’s attitude in her responses to public scrutiny has only “piled frost on top of snow” for the KMT’s already bleak electoral outlook.
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