TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) is facing a public backlash after claiming he “merely sipped” some red wine before driving to Pingzhen Water Treatment Plant on Monday (Jan. 9).
On Tuesday (Jan. 10), Taoyuan City Councilor Yu Hsin-hsien (余信憲) posted on Facebook a photo of Chang posing for a group photo with a glass of wine in his hand. “Mayor Simon Chang joined a happy red wine party last night while Taoyuan had no access to water. During the party, he drank so much that he had a red face, reeked of alcohol, and was unstable on his feet,” he wrote.
“As if joining a happy red wine party while Taoyuan had no water doesn’t look bad enough on him, Chang even personally drove to Pingzhen, where the source of the water outage is. If this isn’t drunk driving, what is?”
In response to the accusation, Chang said on Wednesday (Jan. 11) that while he did attend a dinner on Monday, he “merely sipped” some wine because he is not good at drinking. He added that he did not drive out to the Pingzhen Water Treatment Plant until around five hours later.
“Does that count as drunk driving? If you judge by common sense, the answer is actually very clear,” he was quoted by UDN as saying.
The statement immediately sparked public anger. Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) blasted Chang as “the first special municipal mayor in history to admit to drinking and driving,” adding, “Doesn’t everyone emphasize ‘zero tolerance for drunk driving?’”
On Friday (Jan. 13), during the Ministry of Justice’s anti-drunk driving event, Taiwan Against Drunk Driving Chair Chen Chiao-Chicy (陳喬琪) dubbed Chang “a very bad example,” UDN reported.
“Is it only drunk driving when you are caught by the police?” Chen asked. He said Chang’s mindset reflects not only his questionable morals but also the tendency of many Taiwanese to take chances.
Chen added that though Chang is not liable legally because he was not caught by the police, as a democratically elected mayor, “He must apologize and ask for punishment.”
