Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tian-lin (趙天麟) yesterday confirmed that he had an extramarital affair years ago and issued a public apology to his supporters, adding that his wife has forgiven him.
On Monday evening, Chinese-language media reported that Chao and a Chinese woman were allegedly involved in an extramarital affair. The reports included intimate photographs of Chao and a woman.
Chao yesterday told a news conference at his office in Kaohsiung that he had an extramarital affair many years ago and he was sorry to have caused his wife pain.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
“I have apologized sincerely and received her forgiveness,” he said. “She knows everything that the reports have covered.”
The news conference lasted about two minutes and Chao left without taking questions.
In Taipei, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智?) and Chen Mei-ya (陳美雅), who is running in the same constituency as Chao, told a news conference that Chao is unfit to be a lawmaker.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德), speaking as DPP chairman, issued a public apology over the incident.
Chao was previously embroiled in allegations that he had plagiarized his master’s thesis, and it is even more unbecoming for a member of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee to have an extramarital affair with a Chinese woman, Lai said.
KMT Legislator Ma Wen-chun (馬文君), who has been accused of leaking national security secrets related to the indigenous submarine program, asked whether allegations that Chao instructed an aide to apply for his “Chinese girlfriend” to gain entrance to Taiwan under the pretense of cosmetic surgery should be considered a national security issue.
New Power Party Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said that the public is not concerned whether Chao’s wife had forgiven him for the affair.
However, national security agencies should begin immediate investigations into the matter, as Chao had an extended extramarital affair with a citizen of a hostile state while being a two-time convener of the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Chiu said.
Chao last night announced he will not seek re-election in January’s legislative election.
Additional reporting by Tung Chen-kuo.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS