Lai Shocked by Scandal
China Times Commentary, October 26, 2023
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chao Tian-lin, who was involved years ago in an extra-marital affair scandal and faced with national security leak allegations, withdrew his re-election campaign for legislator, the seventh DPP-friendly legislator candidate to do so because of controversy. This serves as a double blow to the campaign of DPP presidential candidate William Lai. The scandal has not only made the party lose face but also impacted the greater campaign strategy. From northern to southern Taiwan, the DPP has been mired in the dilemma of switching candidates. The developments continue to cloud the electoral prospects of Mr. Lai, who calls himself the “head coach.”
The DPP has always had a low standard when it comes to scandals involving its own politicians. After Legislator Chao’s scandal broke out, he immediately apologized but did not withdraw from the election. However, the situation took a turn for the worse on the night of the breaking news, and factions within the DPP promptly pressured him to announce his withdrawal from the election. The reason is that the scandal might have a limited impact on Chao’s personal integrity, but it is very likely to severely undermine Mr. Lai’s presidential campaign. No one can bear such consequences.
In particular, Legislator Chao’s affair partner is a mainland Chinese woman. This is difficult to justify for the DPP, which relies on the anti-China curse to create the illusion that it is “protecting Taiwan” and frequently red-baiting its political opponents. The internet is full of toxic comments saying that Chao is “pro-China” and “licking” the Communist Party. To make things worse, Chao has been sitting in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan over the past decade of his affair. During this period, there was reasonable doubt whether he had leaked classified information to the Chinese woman. In addition to the opposition party’s request for the national security agencies to investigate relevant liability, there are various rumor-filled uproars online.
From Legislator Chao’s affair and cheating gossip to national security leak allegations, such will obviously continue to spread, and other sensational news may be revealed at any time. This will leave the DPP and Mr. Lai on tenterhooks and unable to fight and endure election challenges well. The biggest internal damage is that these kinds of incidents have become the “pain points” of the DPP, and how can they then use their best tactics of “resisting China to protect Taiwan” and red-tagging? Election polling has began to show signs of continuous decline for William Lai, who has been ahead for a long time in recent polls. The momentum of the non-DPP alliance should have been more optimistic. Whether the Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) can have effective cooperation has been at a critical historical juncture. As a great opportunity comes up on the campaign trail, how can the non-DPP camp miss it again?
From: https://www.chinatimes.com/opinion/20231026004185-262101?chdtv