One of the DPP's founding members, Taichung City Mayor Chang Wen-yin (
"With effect from today, I regrettably announce that I have quit the DPP -- the party with which I grew to maturity over almost 20 years," Chang said yesterday at a press conference in Taichung.
PHOTO: HU WEI-SHI, TAIPEI TIMES
Then, apparently overcome with emotion, Chang stopped speaking and asked a colleague to read her statement, which said "[I] will stick to what is the right thing to do."
"Only action, not words, can demonstrate one's love for Taiwan. Since when has getting rid of those who belong to different factions been the party's founding spirit?" the statement asked, apparently signifying Chang's resentment of the ruling party's selection of Michael Tsai (蔡明憲), a member of the party's "New Tide" faction (新潮流系), as its candidate for Taichung mayor.
Accompanying Chang at yesterday's press conference were former party chairmen Shih Ming-te (
Praising Chang as a politician who sticks to her principles, Shih said "Chang may be alone, but she won't be lonely."
Shih also said that he felt sorry for the party when he saw (during the party's primary elections) graffiti aimed at smearing Chang's political reputation by "groundlessly" accusing her husband of embezzlement.
Shih recalled Chang's words when she lost the primary election in April, saying that Chang felt that she "had not only lost the re-election bid, but had also suffered insults to her family." He said that he therefore respected Chang's decision.
Echoing Shih's view, Hsu said that it was Chang's sense of duty that had motivated her to make yesterday's decision -- though he had not encouraged her to follow in their footsteps by withdrawing from the party.
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