People should not attempt to snap chopsticks in two with their buttocks as injuries to the buttocks or the anus could cause cellulitis, a gastroenterologist said yesterday.
Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-chieh (邱威傑) had pledged that he would snap one chopstick in two with his buttocks for every 10,000 votes exceeding 400,000 in the recall vote against then-Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
Civic groups had campaigned for Han’s removal after he ran as the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in the Jan. 11 presidential election, entering the race a few months after he was elected mayor, in what some voters said was a betrayal of his promises during his mayoral campaign.
The recall vote on Saturday last week saw 939,090 Kaohsiung residents voting for his removal — far higher than the required 574,996 votes, the legal threshold representing 25 percent of Kaohsiung’s eligible voters, with a turnout of 42.14 percent.
Chiu on Tuesday posted a video of him keeping his promise.
Chang Chen-jung (張振榕), a New Taipei City-based gastroenterologist, said that splinters from broken chopsticks could accidentally pierce the flesh and cause cellulitis.
Chang said he had seen cases of people who had inserted things into their anus, which had to be removed by surgery or endoscopy.
While Chiu had apparently not suffered any side effects, Chang said he was concerned that children or teens might emulate Chiu after seeing his video.
Chiu said he was also concerned and so he had in his video told viewers that they should not try to do what he was doing.
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