From a rich daddy's boy to a defender of the 'nation of Taiwan', the son of convicted former president Chen Shui-bian is trying to do everything he can to restore the political glory of his father.
Chen Chih-chung's mission includes winning a seat in the November 27 Kaohsiung City Council election in southern Taiwan. He sees it as a way to avenge 'the unjust conviction' of his father, who has been behind bars since late 2008 on corruption charges. The conviction is being appealed.
But in playing the role of an avenging Prince Hamlet, the 31-year-old stumbled into his first scandal - dubbed 'prostitute-gate' by the local media.
It all started when the Taiwan edition of Hong Kong-based Next magazine reported in its July 21 issue that Chen Chih-chung had patronised a prostitute in Kaohsiung, where he lives, earlier that month.
According to the report, he was seen driving into a motel in the wee hours of July 3 with a 23-year-old prostitute identified as 'Nicole'. The woman confirmed the story and the identity of her client, the report said, adding it was not the first time Chen had allegedly paid for the services of prostitutes, as he had been spotted doing this regularly all year.
The allegations shocked the Taiwanese public, especially the ex-president's supporters, as the slim and bespectacled son had been known as a faithful husband to his music school-trained wife, Huang Jui-ching, whom he married in 2005.
'It is absolutely groundless, very absurd and ridiculous,' Chen said on July 21, in his immediate response to the report. He said he had never used his car to pick up and drop off prostitutes. Chen also said he had often loaned his car to a close friend, identified as Lin Wei-bin.