Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei’s (陳柏惟) bid to avoid being recalled yesterday received a boost from medical professionals led by former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀).
“We have collected more than 100 signatures from medical professionals who endorse Chen,” said Lin, a gynecologist.
“Most of them are based in Taichung or central Taiwan, while some are from other regions,” she said.
Photo courtesy of Chen Po-wei’s service center via CNA
The vote to recall Chen from his constituency — Taichung’s second electoral district — is to be held on Oct. 23.
People at yesterday’s event in the city’s Wurih District (烏日) held signs with slogans such as: “We oppose the revenge recall and support 3Q,” a nickname for Chen.
Other signs read: “Reject vilification — defend values of democracy.”
Lin said that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is attempting to “assassinate Chen’s character.”
“The KMT has distorted the facts and is circulating misinformation to portray Chen as a bad person, painting a highly negative image to mislead voters,” she said.
“The KMT’s smear campaign has perverted the politics of our democratic society,” she said.
Chen is an earnest and hardworking legislator with a 100 percent attendance record at legislative sessions and committee meetings, Lin said, adding that his office has handled more than 2,300 requests from members of the public over the past two years.
Chen broke down in tears while speaking at the event.
Chien Chen-yu (錢震宇) — a spokesman for Sean Lien (連勝文), who is vice chairman of the KMT-affiliated National Policy Foundation — on Friday accused Chen of financial impropriety.
Chen owns a property in Kaohsiung and there has been a “big surge” in his savings, which have increased to NT$4.41 million (US$157,242) over the past year, Chien said.
Chen said that most of his savings come from election subsidies, which are paid to legislative candidates who garner a certain share of the votes in their district, as well as from a former job in the movie production sector.
“I am in my mid-30s. Having this much savings and owning property is not unusual at my age,” he said.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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