Officials from the Tuntex Corporation (
In a statement released yesterday, Tuntex said due to its long-term business relationship with the KMT, the company had been willing to contribute money to the party.
The company then went on to appeal to all presidential candidates to tell the truth and return quickly to a campaign based on policy debate.
The statement follows claims made two days ago by a high-ranking government official that a business tycoon -- who he identified as being surnamed Chen -- had given a NT$100 million check to the KMT on June 10, 1991 to fund campaigning.
At that time, Soong served as the KMT's secretary-general. However, Chen refused to say whether he had given the money to Soong directly.
But the official, who was closely involved with the KMT's internal affairs, said the money had not been deposited in the KMT's public accounts, but instead was stashed in the account of Soong Chen-yuan at the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Corp (
When the first allegations in the mushrooming scandal were made public by KMT legislator at-large Yang Chi-hsiung (
Once the financial dealings were made public, members of Soong's campaign reportedly made private visits to Chen to ask him to be the "elder" that Soong had mentioned. But, the official said, when Chen realized that the donation had been transferred to Soong's son's account, the Tuntex president was too angry to play the role.
In addition to Chen, the official said, Soong also called on the son-in-law of the Shin Kong Corporation's (新光集團) Kuo Jui-sung (郭瑞嵩) -- who now serves as professor at Soochow University -- to ask for help, but that bid also failed.
Soong and Kuo had once been classmates, according to media reports.
Chief secretary to President Lee Teng-hui (
"Soong's secretary Yang Yun-tai (
Standing firm on his position, Su yesterday held a news conference urging Soong to apologize to both President Lee and the Taiwanese people.
Su said the media had exposed the fact that Chen might be the "elder" that Soong was looking for. This was proof Soong had concocted the entire story in a bid to cover his tracks, Su said.
"Having watched the development of events and heard Soong's statements regarding Chung Hsing Bills Finance, it proves that in order to get away from the money scandal, Soong cooked up the story by saying he acted under Lee's direction,'' Su said.
Soong, meanwhile, refused further comments yesterday. However, he has asked former National Chungshing University president Huang Tong-shong (
Huang said that if the KMT still refuses to accept the money, Soong would probably hand the money over to the courts instead. According to current regulations, Huang said, the money would automatically be delivered to the national treasury within 10 years.
KMT officials dismissed Soong's gesture yesterday as a mere "political show.''
"The action [referring to Soong's move to end the trust deal with the KMT] is meaningless. Since Lee never demanded Soong conduct any private work, there is need to end such an appointment,'' said KMT spokesman Huang Huei-chen (
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to start construction of its 1.4-nanometer chip manufacturing facilities at the Central Taiwan Science Park (CTSP, 中部科學園區) as early as October, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported yesterday, citing the park administration. TSMC acquired land for the second phase of the park’s expansion in Taichung in June. Large cement, construction and facility engineering companies in central Taiwan have reportedly been receiving bids for TSMC-related projects, the report said. Supply-chain firms estimated that the business opportunities for engineering, equipment and materials supply, and back-end packaging and testing could reach as high as
ALL QUIET: The Philippine foreign secretary told senators she would not respond to questions about whether Lin Chia-lung was in the country The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday confirmed that a business delegation is visiting the Philippines, but declined to say whether Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) is part of the group, as Philippine lawmakers raised questions over Lin’s reported visit. The group is being led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), Chinese International Economic Cooperation Association (CIECA) chairman Joseph Lyu (呂桔誠) and US-Taiwan Business Council (USTBC) vice president Lotta Danielsson, the ministry said in a statement. However, sources speaking on condition of anonymity said that Lin is leading the delegation of 70 people. Filinvest New Clark City Innovation Park
DEFENSIVE EDGE: The liaison officer would work with Taiwan on drones and military applications for other civilian-developed technologies, a source said A Pentagon unit tasked with facilitating the US military’s adoption of new technology is soon to deploy officials to dozens of friendly nations, including Taiwan, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) is to send a representative to collaborate with Taiwan on drones and military applications from the semiconductor industry by the end of the year, the British daily reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “Drones will certainly be a focus, but they will also be looking at connecting to the broader civilian and dual-use ecosystem, including the tech sector,” one source was