Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday denied that he had cut a deal with Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) and said he would resign if the allegation were proven true.
Ma has been accused of striking a deal with Fubon over its merger with TaipeiBank and his plan for the city to sell Fubon shares to plug a hole in its budget.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
He insisted that he went to Fubon facilities only five times, once to Fubon's office and four times to the company's private club.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) City Councilor Lo Chung-shen (
Ma said, "The point is whether I cut a deal with Fubon. But I know I didn't. My heart is crystal clear. I have asked the city government's Bureau of Ethics to start an internal investigation, and I will cooperate fully with any external investigation.
"I never intended to lie about my visits to Fubon. I just did not explain everything clearly enough the first time," he said.
"I guarantee with my good reputation that I have not cut a deal with Fubon, otherwise I will resign from my post to take responsibility," Ma said.
He said he was not in touch with Fubon before the merger with TaipeiBank was completed on Aug. 8 last year. According to Ma, his visit to a Fubon club one month later was for social reasons and designed to ensure the welfare of the original TaipeiBank employees.
"Over the past year, the merger has proceeded well. The city government has not been selling the shares at a cheap price, but instead the shares it's got in Fubon have increased NT$9.6 billion in value," Ma said.
Ma's most controversial engagement was a meeting on Aug. 11 with Fubon president Tsai Ming-chung (蔡明忠). One week after the meeting, the city government decided it would sell 400 million shares in Fubon.
Ma said the city's plan to sell the shares was not related to the merger and cannot go ahead without approval from city council.
"When the city government was mapping out its budget for next year, there was a shortage of NT$13 billion and the city government is close to its debt ceiling," he said.
"We want to sell off the 400 million Fubon shares. But this plan still needs to be approved by the council, and the council will discuss the budget only at the end of the year," Ma said.
Meanwhile, Lo went to the Control Yuan yesterday to ask that the watchdog investigate Ma.
Control Yuan members Lin Shu-chi (
Four other DPP city councilors, Wang Shih-chien (王世堅), Yen Sheng-kuan (顏聖冠), Lu Ying-ying (呂瀅瀅) and Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇), also went to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office yesterday to file a malfeasance lawsuit against Ma.
"Ma has lied about his visits to Fubon's private club and his credibility is in doubt. We want Mayor Ma to explain everything clearly and the investigators to find out the truth," Wang said.
Ma was also criticized for enjoying expensive meals. Media reports accused Ma of eating shark's fin when dining with Fubon officials.
"Since I was minister of justice, I have avoided ordering shark's fin for ecological reasons. I did have the dish when I dined with the Fubon people, but I was the guest then, and I did not decide on the menu," Ma said.
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