President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) sister Ma Yi-nan (馬以南) sent a strongly worded text message to several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers condemning Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) and asking for their support in the president’s battle with Wang.
In the text message, Ma Yi-nan termed Wang a “shameless speaker” and said that his alleged role in unduly influencing the judiciary to drop a case involving an opposition caucus whip was an act of “betrayal” against the KMT.
The message was sent on Thursday to seven KMT legislators: Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇), Apollo Chen (陳學聖), Alex Fai (費鴻泰), Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), Kung Wen-chi (孔文吉) and Wang Hui-mei (王惠美).
Photo: CNA
Ma Yi-nan said she wanted the seven to talk to other KMT lawmakers and ask them to come out in support of Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, in his relentless fight for “matters of principle” in this case.
“I haven’t seen any KMT lawmaker express support [for Ma Ying-jeou] in front of the media, but I honestly believe that we can judge right from wrong in our hearts. The president cannot back out now,” Ma Yi-nan said.
There is no way that the president will compromise the principles of right and wrong in this case because he has to “right the wrong,” she said.
“Recently when I was in New York, I heard a large cohort of people berate Wang. They said: ‘How come the speaker is so shameless’ and that ‘the speaker exerting undue influence in a case in favor of the caucus whip of an opposition party’ amounted to an act of betrayal against the party,” she said.
She added that the overseas compatriots she met in New York also made admonitory remarks about KMT lawmakers and said that they should have the courage to step forward to back the president.
Asked to respond, Wang said that he thanked her for her comments.
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