Taiwan minister quits after Facebook girlfriend post

Premier Sean Chen has approved the resignation of 51-year-old Hu Yu-wei, who also served as information minister, from the government due to "personal reasons" and has yet to name his successor, the official said, declining to be named.

Hu, previously a professor of media studies, posted a controversial message on Facebook last week revealing that he is currently dating a former student.

Although Hu is divorced, his remark appeared to be the last straw following public uproar about some of his previous Facebook posts.

Hu first came under fire earlier this month when he published an image of an iPhone 5 on Facebook along with an appeal to consume more, setting off a barrage of attacks for not favouring the island's own smartphone brand HTC.

He drew more criticism when he insisted that he was trying to draw attention to government policies encouraging consumption and called the attacks against him "white terror", referring to a period of oppression when Taiwan was a one-party state.

"The negative news has dealt a heavy blow to Hu, and it was inevitable that he had to step down as the government spokesman," said William Niu, a political analyst at the Chinese Culture University in Taipei.

"Hu attempted to find new ways to promote government policies but it's clear the end result was not successful," he said.

Hu could not immediately be reached for comment.

He is not the first government official to get into trouble over comments on social networking websites.

President Ma Ying-jeou was fined US$17,000 by electoral authorities after elections in January when he urged his Facebook followers to vote for him in spite of laws forbidding any form of campaigning on polling day.

A top health official also raised concerns in August when he wrote on his Facebook page that he personally supported gay marriage.

Source: AFP via I-Net Bridge