Amid growing criticism from the public and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers yesterday jumped to defend KMT Chairman Eric Chu’s (朱立倫) decision to run for president without resigning as New Taipei City mayor.
KMT Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元) yesterday shared two pictures on Facebook detailing the names of DPP members and overseas politicians who have run for new positions without resigning their current seats.
“Politicians running for new positions without quitting their current posts is common practice around the world, and has been seen in the US, France and South Korea,” Tsai said in one of the pictures, citing US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of State John Kerry, former French president Jacques Chirac and South Korean President Park Geun-hye as examples.
In another picture, Tsai accused the DPP of pointing one finger to accuse while forgetting that four of its fingers are pointing at itself, saying 33 DPP members who have done the same as Chu since 1997, including former DPP chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌), Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮).
“So, DPP members can run for new posts while clinging to their current offices, but KMT members cannot?” Tsai asked.
KMT Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said that if the New Taipei City Council’s DPP caucus intended to launch an impeachment drive against Chu, maybe it should also do the same to four of his peers who were running for legislator seats despite being elected city councilors just 10 months ago.
“Many DPP members have also made the same choice as Chu. For example, Lu remained in her post as then-Taoyuan County commissioner when competing for the vice presidency in 2000,” Lu said.
Lu was referring to an online impeachment motion put forward by New Taipei City councilor Ho Po-wen (何博文) of the DPP shortly after Chu revealed yesterday morning that he would not step down as mayor and was to take a three-month leave of absence to focus on his presidential campaign.
Lu’s colleague, Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), said it was unfair for the DPP to be too critical of the KMT on this issue, given that there have been many similar cases involving the party’s city mayors, county commissioners, lawmakers and city councilors.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) accused the DPP of double standards.
“Politicians running for new posts without resigning from their current positions is commonplace both overseas and at home. Former US presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were both governors when they ran for president,” Lin said.
It must be concluded from the regularity of the practice in democratic countries worldwide that it does not inherently raise issues, but is more a question of whether voters believe in a candidate’s ability to steer the country in the right direction, Lin said.
The DPP’s criticism of Chu is hypocritical, Lin added, calling for a return from unfounded and malicious attacks against opponents to a rational debate over policies.
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