Hsu Chih-hsin (許智信), a former “specialist” working for the Yilan County Government, absconded after allegations that he had fraudulently obtained NT$200 million (US$6.2 million) from 60 county residents.
His disappearance is politically inconvenient for Yilan County Commissioner Lin Zi-miao (林姿妙), with whom he is closely associated. Even though the Yilan County Government then dismissed Hsu on the pretext that he had been absent without leave for three days, this has been interpreted in the media as an attempt by the county government to deny any connection to an alleged fraudster.
Even though Hsu had failed to be elected, he had been recruited as a county government specialist purely because of his acquaintance with Lin’s daughter.
A specialist, however, should be a civil servant employed through official examinations and selections. Hsu was directly appointed by Lin to work in this position, and his responsibilities were completely unrelated to his official position.
Instead, he served as Lin’s private and political assistant in local campaigns, arranging her schedule and organizing campaign events.
A civil servant dared to sail under false colors in the county government and be recognized as the commissioner’s hand; it is clear that he had Lin’s full blessing.
It is not unusual for low-ranking civil servants to be seen side-by-side with high-ranking political candidates, especially during elections.
This generally has political implications: Should the candidate win, their supporters can expect a promotion as well. You can take that for what it is.
In that case, Hsu was just one of many sycophants in the political system. He volunteered to be a servile “yes-man” for Lin out of his desire for assistance from Lin, a superior political actor.
However, a superior must be highly disciplined and strict with managing the subordinates, or these yes-men might cause them big trouble.
Back to Hsu’s fraud issue: Victims were willing to lend money because they regarded Hsu as being affiliated with Lin. Now that Hsu has apparently absconded with the money, the issue has caused a stir in Yilan County.
The county government, especially the county commissioner, closely associated with the swindler, claimed they had no idea about the scam. This is hard to believe.
A responsible government must look out for residents, but the Yilan County Government appears in this case to be throwing up its hands and saying it had no idea what had happened.
Yilan County Government officials, and even the commissioner herself, have been in deep water due to scandals and corruption ever since Lin took office.
Those suspected officials have resigned or transferred to other positions once reported, and that shows Lin always found ways to avoid any responsibility, raising serious concerns about her ability to maintain control over the county government.
Likewise, Hsu’s dismissal was merely to help Lin divest herself of the connection with fraud and to convince the public of her innocence.
Former Yilan county commissioner Chen Ding-nan (陳定南) had good self-discipline and management of the county government. Nobody accused Chen of corruption or connection with financial scams.
Politicians must bear in mind that reputation and trust require a responsible attitude, and a lack of self-discipline leads to a lack of trust.
Chang Hsun-ching is a former librarian.
Translated by Hsieh Yi-ching
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