TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) has denied having an extramarital affair the day after a fellow Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator apologized for being unfaithful to his wife and resigned.
DPP legislator for Kaohsiung Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) withdrew from the 2024 legislative elections on Tuesday (Oct. 24) after multiple pictures of him appearing to be having an affair with a Chinese woman were posted online, per CNA. Chao said withdrawing from the election was made with the presidential race in mind, and that it was the right thing to do by DPP supporters.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Taiwan’s Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) denied that he had been shown in a video that suggested he had been caught cheating. Many local outlets reported the video showed a man that resembled Chen entering a hotel room with an unidentified woman.
Chen said the videos are old, blurry, and intentionally vague, so as to encourage viewers to infer meaning. He said he had already filed a lawsuit against the poster, and is working with his lawyer to track down the source of the image and reveal the truth.
The incriminating pictures of Chao were released about three months before Taiwan’s presidential election. Assistant Professor of Political Science at Soochow University, Fang-yu Chen (陳方隅) said whoever released them likely had this in mind.
“It’s not public knowledge, but everyone who is familiar with political affairs knows about this,” he told Taiwan News.
Kuo Pei-hung is pictured in October. (Facebook, Kuo Pei-hung photo)
“He deserved this, and should resign, but it’s specifically for the election, that’s for sure,” he said.
Chen said Kaohsiung’s Sixth Electoral District, where Chao would have run if he had not resigned, is hotly contested. He said independent candidate Kuo Pei-hung (郭倍宏), a Taiwanese entrepreneur and a strong supporter of changing the nation's name to "Taiwan," is a strong challenger.
On Wednesday (Oct. 25), 26 pro-independence hardliners issued a letter backing Kuo's legislative bid, including human rights activist Yang Sen-hong (楊憲宏) and former Control Yuan member Cheng Shih-meng (陳師孟).
The DPP is yet to pick a replacement for Chao in the district. However, 26 senior members of Taiwan’s pro-independence faction have reportedly called on DPP Chair Lai Ching-te (賴清德) to back Kuo in the race.