In retaliation for the Executive Yuan's plan to enact a special law that would empower the government to investigate the KMT's assets, the former ruling party yesterday demanded a thorough probe into the government's role in the loss of up to NT$240 billion the National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) and four other government funds have suffered.
Leaders of the KMT legislative caucus announced that they would join lawmakers across party lines to set up an investigative committee as soon as the legislature reopens after the Dec. 1 legislative elections.
Justin Chou (
The KMT lawmakers, meanwhile, said they had no objection to any investigation into the KMT's assets as long as it is backed up by evidence.
"If the DPP government is to enact a special law based on solid facts, we will approve it according to the evidence presented," said Cheng Feng-chi (鄭逢時), a lawmaker and deputy executive-director of the KMT's Policy Committee. "The DPP cannot fabricate charges and spread rumors to defame the KMT. We can never accept a tactic such as this."
The party said the DPP government should be subject to investigation based on the same standard for "embezzling national assets."
James Chen (陳健治), also a deputy chief of the Policy Committee, said that the DPP government began intervening in the stock market using money from government-run funds when the TAIEX stood at 8,200 points, soon after the DPP came to power last year. The nation's main stock market index yesterday closed at 4,548 after dipping below 3,500 last month.
Losses related to the government's market interventions total about NT$240 billion, which Chen said were a result of the DPP's incompetence.
According to Chen, the losses have jeopardized the retirement benefits of veterans and government employees and are expected to increase government debt.
Chen said the government owes the people an explanation as to who was responsible for the decision to intervene and if any corrupt practices were involved.
The lawmakers suspect that the money was poured into the stock market to save firms owned by President Chen Shui-bian's (
People First Party Chairman James Soong (
Soong said he would support the Executive Yuan's move if any government assets were shown to be illegally obtained by the party.
DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Information released by the Control Yuan shows that many of the KMT's assets were obtained illegally, according to Hsieh.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
AIR ALERT: China’s reservation of airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea could be an attempt to test the US’ response ahead of a Trump-Xi meeting, the NSB head said China’s attempts to infiltrate Taiwan are systematic, planned and targeted, with activity shifting from recruiting mid-level military officers to rank-and-file enlisted personnel, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) integrates national security, intelligence operations and “united front” efforts into a dense network to conduct intelligence gathering and espionage in Taiwan, Tsai said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee. It uses specific networks to screen targets through exchange activities and recruiting local collaborators to establish intelligence-gathering organizations, he said. China is also shifting who it targets to lower-ranking military personnel,
RSS