Diamonds and dirty secrets
Former Hsinchu deputy mayor Tsai Li-Ching (蔡麗清) was forced to resign in the most humiliating manner, suggesting that she had failed to fulfill Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao’s (高虹安) “political and personal expectations.”
Kao had been hoping that Tsai could reveal Hsinchu Baseball Stadium’s “dirty little secret,” clearly identifying the risky condition of the field resulting from faulty renovations conducted under former Hsinchu mayor Lin Chih-chien (林智堅) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
However, Kao, who belongs to the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), has a “dirty little secret” of her own.
Changes to the contract’s design specifications have led to the current safety concerns at Hsinchu Baseball Stadium, and these would best be fixed by pushing the contractor to modify the renovation project plans. Instead, since taking office, Kao has misused a great deal of public funds “investigating” Lin’s errors by digging into the field, but still found no “dirty little secret” either underneath the ground or table.
Kao attempted to take advantage of Tsai’s status as a former prosecutor in the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office to make Lin’s irresponsibility and corruption in the renovation case publicly convincing, and to further decrease support for the DPP.
What else was Tsai expected to do for Kao?
Kao was last year accused of payroll deduction fraud and was surprisingly not indicted due to “insufficient evidence.” Tsai, a legal professional, makes every decision based on evidence. Kao’s seamless plan was thus to make use of Tsai’s status and legal “help” as a former prosecutor to get rid of the ongoing and possibly upcoming legal issues.
Kao’s fraud case caused a stir during the previous mayoral election, showing she would be neither a good employer nor a reliable mayor. Yet voters in Hsinchu City believed Kao could be a responsible mayor.
The winner of a landslide election does not always end up a perfect fit. Such are the idiosyncrasies of democracy.
Kao has done nothing but poor municipal management and place last in the poll over her eight-month run. The reality has disappointed Hsinchu residents, but they must take responsibility for their own predicament, since they insisted on voting for a candidate involved in a scandal.
A mayor of real talent and vision for the city should make municipal affairs a top priority. If she becomes obsessed with unveiling the former mayor’s “misconduct,” it is no wonder that the deputy mayor would be asked to leave.
Chiu Ping-chin
Taipei
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