The Cabinet yesterday said it would not be asking Minister of the Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (余政憲) to resign for accepting a massage from unlicensed masseuses.
"At the moment, there's no question of shouldering political responsibility as the matter doesn't involve any political decision made on any political issue," Cabinet Spokesman Lin Chia-lung (
According to Lin, Premier Yu Shyi-kun has ordered the Cabinet's ethics department to investigate the matter, while Yu Cheng-hsien himself has apologized to the public for making a mistake and will assume any responsibility, both legal and administrative.
"The minister telephoned the premier on Wednesday to brief him before holding a press conference to offer his apology," Lin said. "As both the judicial and administrative systems are investigating the matter, I'm calling on the public and the media to be patient and stop politicizing the matter and making it more complicated."
Apparently unsatisfied with the Cabinet's handling of the incident, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Lee Chia-chin (
"As both the president and the premier think the minister is still fit for his job, I think both of them owe the public an explanation," Lee said.
Taipei City Government officials yesterday went to the massage parlor Yu Cheng-hsien visited, but it was closed.
The city, however, issued tickets of NT$10,000 to the two masseuses who worked on Yu Cheng-hsien and another NT$20,000 ticket to the proprietor.
The issue threatened to tarnish the government's image at a sensitive time -- just as Chen prepares for March's presidential election. Yu is one of Chen's confidants.
The investigation began after a magazine alleged that Yu accepted the massages as a bribe from businesspeople.
Yu acknowledged that he received the massage, but he denied that the businesspeople paid for it.
A local newspaper quoted Yu as saying that he comes from the south where people have a custom of taking turns in treating each other to such services.
"Sometimes people treat me, and the next time I treat them," Yu was quoted as saying.
Yu was not suspected of seeking sexual services from the two masseuses, who were described as older women.
But Yu acknowledged that the women were not licensed to perform massages and he apologized for not following regulations. Only visually-impaired people can get licenses to perform massages.
The interior minister has been the target of a number of accusations since taking up the post in February last year.
Most seriously, he was accused of involvement in the Zanadau scandal when he was Kaohsiung County commissioner after a former colleague of his was arrested late last year.
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in