For the premier has found himself in an embarrassing, or perhaps scandalous, development concerning his friendship with a man who has a long criminal history that includes murder, gun-running, theft and extortion.

While the government is stepping up a crackdown on criminal elements threatening professional baseball in Taiwan in the wake of game-fixing allegations, Next magazine has revealed that Wu last year visited the Indonesian island resort of Bali with that man, Chiang Chin-liang, as well as Nantou County Magistrate Lee Chao-chin.

Chiang, currently on parole for a prison term that lasts until 2017, is now the head of an association for the promotion of Nantou, the home county of both the premier and the ex-convict.

The government's spokesman responded to the magazine's revelation by stressing that Wu paid for the trip with his own expenses.

Wu also played down his relationship with Chiang, saying society should not look down upon ex-convicts and should instead give them a chance to reform.

We do not question Wu's arguments or his spokesman's claims. The premier is right about giving ex-convicts a second chance, and the possibility of him accepting a small favor in the form of a free trip is peripheral.

The core issue is structural rather than personal. We need to ask how deeply involved gangsters are in Taiwan's politics.

President Ma Ying-jeou is known for his “cleanness.” He has seldom personally dealt with the “dirty” work behind the scenes that have often been crucial in many political developments.

He has such political figures as Wu to do the “dirty” work. “Dirty” work here does not necessarily mean corrupt or criminal dealings, but refers to face-to-face encounters, behind-the-scene maneuverings, and bargaining that involve all sorts of people, gangsters included.

Wu went to Bali island when he was secretary-general of the ruling Kuomintang — a position requiring him to do exactly the above-mentioned work.

The magazine alleged that the trip — officially a fact-finding tour to Bali for the advancement of Nantou's tourism — was actually intended to settle the KMT's nomination for the central county in next month's magistrate poll.

The incumbent magistrate, Lee, who is running for reelection, claimed at the time of the trip he was unaware of Chiang's criminal records.

But now Chiang is the leader of a major supporter' group campaigning for Lee.

His role in the campaign is not a small one, judging from the fact that he has stumped for Lee together with Wu's wife.

Why is Chiang involved in the campaign? Isn't it true that the KMT is relying on him because of the ties and influences he built up during his days as leader of a major local gang in central Taiwan, even if he may no longer be its boss now?

On the national level, there has seldom been gangster elements involved openly in the administration or parliament, perhaps with one major exception in former Legislator Lo Fu-chu, who admits to being the “spiritual leader” of one of Taiwan's biggest gangs. His son, Lo Ming-tsai, is currently a KMT member in the national Legislature.

Administrators of major cities and counties may also be clean themselves.

But how many of the elections that get these politicians to their seats — either on the national or local levels — involve support in one way or another from gangsters or people with ties to gangsters?

On more grassroots levels, gangsters often do not have to hide themselves behind the scenes, and many alleged gangsters have been elected to local representative bodies.

One of the underlying problems with Taiwan's politics is that it is built on local factional interests that offer many opportunities of manipulation.

During election times, one of the major tasks for political parties is often to settle conflicts and struggles between different local factions in order to avoid a split that may undermine their winning chances.

President Ma has been trying to rid the KMT of such factional interests. He has been bent on nominating candidates with clean reputations, rather than ones representing factional interests.

But his nomination strategy has frequently been criticized as unrealistic.

Until Taiwan politics is free from factional influences, it would be no surprise to see Wu or other high-level officials befriending gangsters.