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 (
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
RSS