The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday expelled its mayoral candidate for Hsinchu County’s Jhubei City (竹北) after he was allegedly involved in a drunk-driving incident.
The TPP said in a statement that after the party learned that Lin Guan-nian (林冠年) was in a traffic accident that allegedly involved him driving under the influence of alcohol, it immediately called a meeting on Monday to address the incident.
“After the facts on Lin’s drunk driving have been proven, which contravenes the party’s regulations, a committee decided to revoke his nomination for Jhubei City mayor, and the resolution has been handed over to the TPP’s central committee,” the statement said.
Photo from Lin Guan-nian’s Facebook page
The central committee subsequently passed a resolution to expel Lin from the party, it said.
The TPP has a “zero tolerance” policy on drunk driving, and strives to hold its candidates and officials to the highest moral standard, it said.
Lin wrote on Facebook that he had “reached a settlement” over a traffic incident he said was caused by driving while tired, adding: “I am deeply sorry.”
“People with bad intentions have resorted to every conceivable means to slander and spread rumors anonymously, corrupting the election morals,” he wrote. “They even used political persecution to charge me of a crime, and attack me and the party’s Hsinchu election convener [TPP Legislator] Ann Kao (高虹安), which is unacceptable to the voters.”
Separately yesterday, TPP Chairman and Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that he had previously asked Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Hsinchu mayoral candidate Shen Hui-hung (沈慧虹), who is a former Hsinchu deputy mayor, to work for him.
After political commentator Wu Tsu-chia (吳子嘉) on Saturday said that Shen had asked Ko for an official post, Shen’s campaign office on Monday filed a complaint against Wu for defamation.
Shen on Monday wrote on Facebook that it was Ko who asked her to work for him, not the other way around.
She said she had met with Ko and then-Taipei deputy mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) in Ko’s office on Jan. 3, and Ko had told her that she was “very loyal” as he had “tried to poach her many times,” but she never agreed.
Shen wrote that Ko had asked her about the election situation in Hsinchu, as well as about her career plans, and that Huang also called her in March to invite her to meet in Taipei, but she refused.
Ko yesterday said he did ask Shen about the situation in Hsinchu and told her: “What are you going to do? It’s simple, we have job openings here, and you can come.”
Ko said he has only mentioned the matter to another radio talk show host, but did not speak about it with Wu.
Additional reporting by CNA
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