Taipei City Government spokesman Liu Yi-ting (劉奕霆) yesterday denied a report that Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) decision to reassign his chief of staff Tsai Pi-ju (蔡壁如) and appoint her as a municipal adviser was intended to please the pan-green camp.
Tsai was relieved from duty shortly after the third anniversary of Ko’s inauguration on Monday last week.
She has worked with Ko for more than 20 years starting when he was a surgeon at National Taiwan University Hospital.
After Liu confirmed the dismissal last week, Ko on Friday told reporters that it was only a rearrangement of duties.
As Tsai has a straightforward personality that might not be appropriate for handling external affairs, she would handle internal affairs at the city government, Ko said, adding that politics is not the only factor to be considered when deciding whether a person is suitable for a post.
The Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday reported that the arrangement was aimed at pleasing the pan-green camp in consideration of this year’s mayoral election, as Tsai’s outspoken personality was said to have offended many councilors.
Liu yesterday said the duties of municipal advisers would be separated into internal and external affairs, and Tsai would be handling meetings, documents and personnel evaluation at the city government.
The external affairs post remains vacant, Liu said, adding that people should not overinterpret the arrangement.
Tsai has been in charge of contacting and negotiating with external groups regarding city policies, Liu said, adding that after the arrangement she would no longer be contacting them.
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