Cooperation in the "pan-green" camp ground to a halt yesterday, after a TSU lawmaker accused three of his DPP colleagues of profiting through interfering with bids for the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, sparking a near-physical confrontation and a day of angry recrimination.
In contrast to the behind-the-scenes resentment that has characterized their relationship in the past, yesterday's disputes were both severe and public, and appear to have seriously impaired the parties' relationship.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
First challenged by DPP lawmaker Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) at the legislative chamber, TSU lawmaker Su Ying-kwei (蘇盈貴) was later involved in an angry war of words at the entrance of the main legislative building with DPP lawmaker Cheng Tsao-min (鄭朝明) and his wife Huang Ying-chu (黃英桔).
Shouting erupted following Su's allegation, first made on Tuesday, that Cheng, along with two other DPP law-makers, Liang Mu-yang (
Su charges that the accused lawmakers interfered with the bidding process for the building of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in an effort to let certain companies win the contracts.
Huang, who is also an aide of Cheng's, demanded that Su must present his evidence.
Apparently losing her composure, Huang pushed Su and was poised to strike him when guards broke up the two.
In the legislative chamber a while earlier, Wang asked Su to show his proof and sign an agreement which would, Wang said, make certain that all individuals involved in the case would be held accountable for their conduct.
The agreement is supposed to have said that the three DPP lawmakers should resign if they are proved to have been connected to the scandal, otherwise the accusers, Su and PFP lawmaker Chiu Yi (
What's more, the dispute has provoked tension within the TSU, as most of its legislators would just as soon see the entire dispute come to a quick end.
For this reason, Su felt "betrayed" by their party comrades.
"It is not an issue that I can make an apology for. It is a matter of right and wrong. To have a sense of what's right and wrong is the basic principle of being a human being," Su said after his colleague, Huang Chung-yuan (黃宗源), offered an apology to the DPP on Su's behalf.
"My purpose [for identifying the DPP legislators] was to establish a sound system in the government. I had no intention of hurting anyone."
Huang Chung-yuan said earlier at a press conference that he was sorry his colleague has harmed the reputation of DPP lawmakers before presenting evidence finding them guilty. He said he would like to make an apology in Su's name.
Fearing that the fights would continue to strain relations between the "pan greens," leaders of the two caucuses have begun talks to calm tensions.
Nonetheless, legislators across party lines yesterday demanded an immediate investigation to ascertain the accuracy of the accusations.
The three DPP legislators involved in the incident ended the day maintaining their innocence and vowing to commit suicide if evidence shows they committed any misconduct in the case.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique