Two-term DPP lawmaker Chou Ya-shu (
Chou, 36, called a news conference in March to deny any romantic ties with the tall, handsome sergeant, Lin Chih-nan, (
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"I had nothing to do with Lin's family crisis," the female legislator said then in tears. "Lin and I are good friends. That's all. This malicious lie has done great harm to my family and me. I am afraid no one will ever marry me."
News reports the day before the news conference said Chou had been dating Lin and that the extra-martial affair caused the police officer to divorce his wife. In addition, they alleged the lawmaker pressured Lin's supervisors to give her boyfriend promotions.
"Despite our decade-old friendship, I never did such a thing," Chou said, adding that she was considering legal action against what she called "irresponsible" media.
This denial is believed to account for her silence over the engagement, about which Lin has openly admitted.
"We have got engaged after all," he said during a TV interview last week.
Fellow DPP lawmakers said they were long aware of the two's romance but agreed to keep quiet in line with Chou's wish. Likewise, her aides had to fake surprise saying, "You guys know something we don't know at all."
Despite her comparative youth, Chou has been in politics for more than a decade. With a bachelor's degree in law from National Taiwan University, she won a seat on the Taipei County Council in 1990 at the age of 24.
Many attributed her early victory to the help of former independent legislator Liao Hsueh-kuang (
Seeking to run for Hsichih township chief, Liao groomed Chou to succeed in his seat on the council. The two went to the same university, albeit years apart.
As Chou showed no interest in politics at college, her election prompted a former classmate to call her, saying, "Someone with the same name as you was elected a county councilor." Chou replied, "I am actually the Chou Ya-shu you are speaking of."
Decisive and intelligent, she quickly asserted herself in the political realm and won a second term on the council four year later.
In 1996, aged 30, she won a by-election for Hsichih township chief, after Liao entered the legislature. Under her leadership, the town hall introduced a community bus service.
Though young, Chou showed no trepidation in standing up to a local tycoon Tseng Ping-huang (
Meanwhile, Chou taught civics in a local adult school. Students described her as both amiable and humorous.
Ties between Chou and her mentor Liao turned sour in 1997 when she threw her support behind DPP flag-bearer Su Tseng-chang (
In retaliation, Liao helped his wife unseat Chou in the race for Hsichih township chief the following year.
Some linked her setback to her father Chou Chiu-chin (
Chou Ya-shu's political eclipse did not last long, however.
Later the same year, she ran for the legislature and won a seat representing Taipei County's third district. Last December, she won a second term whereas Liao lost his seat for the same constituency.
Throughout her political career, Chou has been plagued by romantic scandals of one kind or another.
Some said she had an affair with Liao, while others owed her rise in politics to the assistance of several married men. Like most other single female politicians, she has to beg the public to focus their attention on her professional performance instead of her private life.
Earlier this year, she joined the Orchid Society (
To guard their privacy, they keep the club's activities secret from the press.
Her membership of the society is expected to end now that she has been engaged.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and