Little known outside of political circles, DPP Legislator Cheng Yu-chen (
Laconic and low-key, Cheng has played hide-and-seek with friends and reporters over the past week, wistfully thinking that the uproar would soon die down on its own.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
"I hope the media will quit focusing on the issue. It is purely personal," he said in a brief statement issued Thursday evening. The lawmaker had planned to hold a news conference that afternoon but called it off without an explanation.
His alleged relationship with his aide drew intensive media attention Tuesday when Cheng's wife, Lu Pei-ying (
`Stoic sufferer'
It is said that Lu, acting on advice of family members, decided to stand up to Cheng's alleged mistress, Wang Hsiao-chan (
"From now on, you can expect to see a lot of me," Lu told reporters. "No one asked me to. I made the decision myself."
She seated herself behind a small desk and answered phones while her husband was on a trip to China accompanied by Wang.
During a telephone interview, Wang criticized Lu as unqualified for the job and suggested the legislature's security guards block Lu's entry.
"Lu is not a registered worker and should not be allowed to enter the legislature," said Wang, whose romance with former presidential secretary-general John Chang (
Lu insists she is familiar with the tasks of the job, saying she has been helping Cheng since they got married 30 years ago.
Chang Sheng-chuan (
And so the standoff between the two women shows no sign of ending.
Lu has continued to show up at the legislature, while her husband and Wang, who returned to Taipei on Wednesday, have stayed away.
Unfazed
Though the lawmaker denied having a romantic relationship with his aide, cameras outside of Wang's apartment building showed the two leaving and getting into into a white sedan on Thursday.
Cheng, unfazed by the gossip that he implied was fueled by family members who do not understand the situation, has said he will continue to employ Wang.
Friends and supporters, however, express apprehension that the extramarital affair may hurt Cheng's political career.
Decade of misfortune
A native of Taipei County, Cheng, 56, whose family exerts significant influence in the Hsinchuang area, experienced a decade of political misfortune before making a comeback by winning a legislative seat last December.
In 1977, he was elected as Hsinchuang's town chief and later became the mayor of Hsinchuang when the district was upgraded to city status. In 1980, he won a legislative seat representing Taipei County and managed to win a second term three years later. During that time, Cheng did not belong to a political party.
Shih Ming-ching (
"He must not allow a woman to damage his political career for a second time," Shih said.
Joining the DPP
In 1986, Cheng lost his bid to win a third legislative term and joined the DPP the next year to steer its Taipei County chapter.
In 1989 Cheng again campaigned for a seat in the legislature and won. During the next three years, he had his share of physical bouts with KMT law-makers when brawls were a hallmark of legislative culture.
After losing his seat in 1992, Cheng repeatedly sought to return to the legislature but was unsuccessful until last year.
Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
DPP headquarters has also received many phone calls from people wanting to protest Cheng's alleged infidelity.
But DPP Deputy Secretary-General Michael You (
Another party worker, who declined to be named, describes the criticism as hypocritical, saying that the party does not have an anti-adultery clause in its charter.
Cheng's alleged romance promises to add strength to the notion that the legislature is prone to scandal.
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