Chen made the apology at the Taichung City Council at noon yesterday, where councilors of both the ruling Kuomintang and opposition parties lashed out at him for behavior that undermined the interests of students taking the test.

Originally, Chen was absent from a morning council session, but Taichung Mayor Jason Hu called Chen to show up at the session and apologize to the public.

Chen expressed deep apology to the Taichung City Council, councilors, the Taichung mayor, citizens, as well as the principal of Ta Teh junior high school, teachers, parents, and students for his misconduct.

Chen said he drove to Ta Teh junior high school to play tennis early on the morning of May 24, the first day of the basic scholastic ability test. But when leaving the school at around 7:00 a.m. to attend a funeral service, Chen said his car was blocked by several buses illegally double parking. He said he tried to ask the bus drivers to make way for him, but they refused.

Finally, while the buses drove away, Chen stopped his car in front of the last bus, and told the driver not to do the same next time. His behavior made students aboard quite nervous, because they feared arriving late for the first course of the test.

“I wouldn’t have blocked the bus if I knew that it was exclusively for students taking the test,” Chen said at the city council session.

In related news, the Taichung chapter of the KMT decided yesterday afternoon to revoke Chen’s party membership for his behavior, although Chen himself already issued a statement announcing his withdrawal from the KMT.

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