Hsieh Po-hung (謝泊泓) yesterday resigned as director of the Hsinchu City Department of General Affairs following media allegations that he was having an extramarital affair with a fellow Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) member.
Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) has accepted Hsieh’s resignation, the city government said.
Kao is also a member of the TPP.
Photo: Hung Mei-hsiu, Taipei Times
Hsieh, 32, had been an office director working under former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and was an essential aide in Kao’s campaign team during the local elections in November last year.
He took up the post of Department of General Affairs director after Kao was sworn into office on Dec. 25.
Hsieh is the shortest-lived first-level administrative officer after resigning in less than a month.
Photo: screengrab from ROCK Records MV on YouTube
The weekly Mirror Media magazine yesterday reported that Hsieh and TPP staffer Lin Yi-hsuan (林宜萱), who is also married, had held hands and kissed on the street.
She stayed with him in accommodation provided by the city government a few days after taking office, Mirror Media reported.
Hsieh said that “a mistake is a mistake,” and apologized to family members, friends and colleagues who were affected.
The TPP said that Hsieh’s professional performance while working for the party was obvious to all.
As for his private life, the party had no prior knowledge of the affair and respects his handling of the situation, it said.
Ko, who is TPP chairman, said that “everyone should be responsible for their own behavior, and handle their own issues.”
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