Recently, Legislative Yuan Speaker Su Jia-chyuan led a parliamentary delegation to Japan, but some DPP legislators brought their families to an overseas Chinese banquet, raising questions about blurring the lines between public and private matters.
Su Jia-chyuan addressed this controversy after concluding his visit to Japan.
👨👩👧👦 Su Jia-chyuan’s Response to “Blurring Public and Private Lines”:
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Excusable During Recess: The Legislative Yuan or Parliament is in recess in August and September. To make up for the long absences from home, some legislators bring their children or family members, which is understandable.
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Refuting the “Incidentally” Claim: Su Jia-chyuan pointed out that the dinner on the 3rd was a banquet hosted by the overseas Chinese community for the visiting delegation. The overseas Chinese treated the delegation like family and very warmly invited the families of the delegation members. Attendees all wore name tags, indicating they were invited. To say they were “incidentally” there was very inappropriate.
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Distinguishing Between Occasions: He believes that bringing family members to more formal occasions such as those hosted by the legislature, government officials, or members of the House of Representatives would be somewhat impolite; however, at an overseas Chinese community banquet, it is understandable for family members to visit, as long as public funds are not wasted or public resources are not misused.
⚖️ Calling for a Broader Perspective:
Su Jia-chyuan stated that he hopes everyone will consider this issue from a broader perspective, weighing the function of this delegation’s visit and what they can do for the country.
He believes that focusing on only 1% of minor flaws is unfair to every member of the Diet who came to Japan to promote diplomacy, and he would like to ask the media to view the matter from an encouraging perspective.