Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) and DPP spokeswoman Yen Juo-fang (顏若芳) have been out of public sight since reports emerged earlier this week alleging that the two had an extramarital affair.
A report on Tuesday by the Chinese-language Mirror Daily (鏡週刊) said that 52-year-old Wang, who is married, has been staying at Yen’s residence in Taipei for as many as five nights a week.
Responding to the allegations, the two said that it is simply a landlord-tenant relationship, with Wang renting a room from Yen for NT$8,000 per month when he does not have time to travel back to his constituency in Tainan.
While Wang has shunned the limelight, he has remained active on Facebook.
Yen, who is 35 and single, has taken leave from her post.
A DPP member, speaking on condition of anonymity, on Thursday said that such rumors are “quite damaging” to women and the allegations could spell the end of Yen’s career.
Another DPP member said that a party spokesperson represents the party’s image to the public, and the allegations implicating Yen reflects poorly on the party in general, so it should take immediate action.
Another DPP member said on condition of anonymity that the party’s silence while Wang repeatedly changed his story is playing the party’s supporters for fools.
The party should not allow Wang to continue misleading voters, the DPP member said, referring to Wang’s response to allegations of falsifying his check-in locations on social media, with the legislator claiming “he checked in to work on Facebook,” but never showed where he was.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators said Wang should “come clean,” and the continued silence on Wang’s and Yen’s part would only harm the DPP.
KMT Legislator Jessica Chen (陳玉珍) said that she respects how Wang handles his private life, but he is a member of the DPP Central Standing Committee and Yen is the party’s spokeswoman.
DPP headquarters’ failure to address the issue implies that the party believes Wang’s claims and sends a message that it “does not care” how it is perceived by the public, she said.
KMT Legislator Cheng Li-wen (鄭麗文) said that Wang should shoulder the responsibility if he has done anything wrong, and if not, he should step up to clarify the issue.
The public is watching how the DPP handles the matter, she added.
Additional reporting by Chen Yun
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