Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday defended his wife, Tsai Ling-yi (蔡令怡), over a remark she made on Tuesday, when she said that last week’s floods in southern Taiwan were the result of the gods being “omniscient” and punishing the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government.
At a Taipei Women Association gathering to drum up support for KMT Taipei mayoral candidate Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), Tsai said that the DPP had built “fake” flood prevention infrastructure in southern Taiwan that led to the flooding.
The all-knowing gods saw through the DPP’s “fake” construction, which is why they brought extremely heavy rain to southern municipalities and counties governed by the DPP, as “a slap in its face,” Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
Her remarks triggered a torrent of criticism on the Internet, with many netizens criticizing her for gloating while people were suffering.
While visiting Yilan’s Sanching Temple with his wife on Thursday, Wu was asked by reporters to comment on her remarks, but Tsai interrupted, saying that she was “petitioning on behalf of the people.”
Yesterday, reporters again asked him about his wife’s remarks.
“People’s words should not be taken out of context,” Wu said, urging the media not to misinterpret Tsai’s words.
“It it unethical if you condense a speech that lasted several minutes into 10 or 20 seconds,” he said.
Tsai’s criticism was not directed at the flood victims, but at officials and contractors who used taxpayers’ money to build flood prevention infrastructure and cut corners during the process, putting people’s lives and property at risk, Wu said.
“My wife was very clear that time would reveal which construction projects were ‘real’ and which ones were ‘fake,’” he said.
“For example a ‘certain political party’ has governed some counties and municipalities for 20 or 30 years, but have the construction projects it completed stood up to the test?” Wu said.
Wu said that throughout his political career, his wife has reminded him: “The gods are watching, and they will not forgive you if you launch fake construction projects.”
“I fully stand by her words,” he said.
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