Veteran entertainer Lisa Cheng (鄭惠中) yesterday said that several false claims have been made about her after she slapped Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) in the face at a lunar year-end banquet in Taipei on Tuesday.
For one, the Confederation of Entertainment Unions has said it is considering revoking her membership, but she is not a member of the group, Lisa Cheng said at a news conference with members of the New Party in Taipei
While she has sincerely apologized to the minister and to the public for her “impulsive” behavior, her position remains unchanged, she said, referring to her disapproval of government efforts to remove symbols of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his son, former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國),
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
She personally refers to the government’s transitional justice efforts as “transitional injustice,” she said.
The New Party believes people should stop condemning Lisa Cheng because she has bravely accepted responsibility for her action, apologized and explained her action to prosecutors and police on her own accord, spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) said.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) says Lisa Cheng has hurt Taiwan’s democracy by slapping the minister in the face, “but let us look at what means DPP legislators have used to demonstrate the democracy they speak of,” he said, holding a photograph of what appears to be DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) engaging in a physical confrontation with a fellow lawmaker at the Legislative Yuan.
Wang Ping-chung urged the DPP to ask its legislators who have “set the worst example for Taiwan’s democracy” to apologize to the public.
Lisa Cheng’s attorney, Chen Li-ling (陳麗玲), questioned a decision by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to place her under house arrest.
As the minister of culture of the Republic of China (ROC), instead of promoting “zhonghua culture” (中華文化, Chinese culture), Cheng Li-chiun wants to engage in desinicization efforts and remove symbols of Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo, New Party member Lin Ming-cheng (林明正) said, calling the minister an incompetent official.
It was only natural that her efforts would incite anger, he said.
Lisa Cheng told him that she is most concerned about young people being guided by an incorrect historical perspective, he said.
He urged Lisa Cheng’s supporters to back a referendum proposal by National Chiayi University professor Wu Quen-tsai (吳昆財) to reintroduce Chinese history to school curriculums, he said.
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