Deputy Minister of the Interior’s remarks criticized for failing to maintain administrative neutrality

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/12/15
By: Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A top Taiwanese official apologized on Saturday (Dec. 14) for suggesting

that “it’s a waste to vote for small parties,” as the country gears up for the 2020 presidential and legislative elections.

Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥) made what he described as a slip of the tongue when he addressed an audience of female new immigrants at a voting simulation event on Saturday, at President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) campaign headquarters in Taoyuan. Saying it would amount to a wasted vote supporting small parties, he also asked participants to cast their ballots for the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and Tsai, who’s seeking re-election.

“If you happened to add your stamp for the wrong person, you might as well make it a null vote by adding more stamps on the ballot,” CNA quoted Chen as saying. The remarks quickly drew fire from the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) camp, with presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu's (韓國瑜) Taoyuan headquarters manager Liang Wei-chao (梁為超) blasting the deed as publicly soliciting votes and violating the principle of administrative neutrality for public office holders.    [FULL  STORY]