Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday pledged to conduct a thorough investigation into Cabinet agencies within 20 days in a bid to find out whether any of them have created illegal secret accounts similar to those set up at the National Security Bureau (NSB).
"As far as I know there isn't any secret account set up at the Executive Yuan," Yu said.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
He said he would nevertheless conduct a thorough investigation and submit a written report to the legislature within 20 days.
Yu made the comments in response to a request by KMT lawmaker Hung Hsiu-chu (
After reports in the China Times and Next magazine exposed secret operations dating from the Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) administration, law enforcement officials raided Next's offices. The author of the article has also been questioned and barred from leaving the country.
The reports cited information believed to have been provided by the NSB's former chief cashier, Colonel Liu Kuan-chun (劉冠軍), who is wanted by authorities for allegedly embezzling NT$192 million. Liu fled Taiwan in 2000 using a fake passport.
The reports claimed that two secret accounts, holding a combined NT$3.5 billion, were not subject to legislative scrutiny and were established at Lee's initiative to be used for secret diplomatic efforts and intelligence activities.
The raid not only upset the local media but also prompted the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to denounce the government's act as "censorship."
Yu, however, said yesterday that he supported the move.
"Law enforcement officials have the absolute right to investigate any irregularities," he said.
Yu also dismissed Hung's accusation that the government has handled the matter poorly.
"I believe the authorities concerned have struck a balance between national security and press freedom," he said.
Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
"They were there to gather evidence for a suspected criminal act, not to censor the publication," Chen said. "There's no such a thing as censorship since the Publication Law was abolished in 1989. It is a crime to breach national security no matter who the person is."
When Hung questioned Yu on the legislative floor yesterday, he also suggested Yu replace Government Information Office Director-General Arthur Iap (
Hung said Yeh has a better grasp of the meaning of press freedom than Iap.
Yeh's late husband, Deng Nan-jung (
An independence advocate, Deng established the opposition magazine Freedom Era in 1984.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a