Taipei Mayoral candidates Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday defended the lineups of their election teams, after they have been criticized for allegedly giving posts to family members of government officials.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) on Monday posted a picture of Chen’s campaign team on Facebook, including their names and telephone numbers, saying that several of them are the daughter or son of government officials.
Chen’s campaign team decried the publication of the picture, saying that revealing staff’s personal data is against the law and Hsu should apologize.
Photo: CNA
Hsu later removed the picture, but posted it again with the names and phone numbers blacked out.
“This pan-green camp’s second-generation fleet is such a big bonus to the team,” she wrote.
DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄), Chen’s election campaign spokesman, on Tuesday said Hsu and Chiang’s campaign team should explain how they obtained the telephone numbers and whether they used illegal means to do so.
Staff at the campaign headquarters are not the campaign’s window to the public, so their contact information should not have been made public, Chuang said, urging Chiang to declare whether he approves of such methods.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) posted a list of Chiang’s campaign team on Facebook, including whether their parents have served as legislators or government officials.
However, Hsu Chih-chieh wrote that as long as they are willing to make an effort for the nation, it does not matter whether they are from a politically influential family.
Chiang, being from a political family himself, would be given his fair chance by voters in Taipei, he added.
Making public the names and family connections of staff members who are not public figures is appropriate, he said, adding that he does not understand why Chiang’s team is “slapping itself in the face.”
Chiang is a great-grandson of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), grandson of former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), and son of former KMT vice chairman and legislator John Chiang (蔣孝嚴).
Chiang Wan-an yesterday said his team comprises many elected representatives, who would not try to hide their family backgrounds, nor become angry when their names are made public or try to have their information blacked out on confidentiality grounds.
The DPP candidate said that people can criticize any second-generation political figure whom they think is underqualified for their job and got the post based on family connections.
Members of his team who come from political families hold basic-level positions, Chen said, adding that his campaign enables them to learn how to conduct political campaigns at the grass-roots level.
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