The office of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday disputed an opinion piece by presidential confidant Chen Chang-ven (陳長文), published by the Chinese-language China Times, saying that Chen “did not get the facts right” in his comparison of Tsai and incoming Mainland Affairs Council minister Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦). In the opinion piece, Chen defended President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) appointment of Wang, 43, as the top China policy-maker and said that criticism which claimed Wang was too young for the job and was appointed simply by virtue of his relationship with Ma was dumbfounded and irrational. Citing Tsai as an example, Chen said that the inexperienced Tsai was 44 years old when she was appointed MAC chairperson in 2000 and “had accomplished nothing during her tenure.” Most criticism against Wang came from the pan-blue camp, not the DPP, and was targeted at Wang’s expertise, not his age,” Tsai’s spokesperson Hung Yao-fu (洪耀福) said in a press release. Tsai had more than a dozen years of experience on international negotiations — a crucial skill for a China policymaker — under her belt when she was named MAC chair in 2000, which set her aside from Wang, Hung said.