Under the instruction of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), the Presidential Office yesterday stripped former deputy secretary-general to the Presidential Office Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) of two medals the president had conferred on him.
Chen Che-nan has been indicted for corruption related to the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal.
The Presidential Office said its decision to strip him of the medals was based on recent findings that Chen Che-nan had used Presidential Office staff to look after personal business. As a result, the Presidential Office stripped him of the Order of the Brilliant Star and the Order of Propitious Clouds.
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUEI, TAIPEI TIMES
A statement released last night from the Presidential Office, said the president was "severely upset" over the misconduct.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislater insinuated that a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker was the source of a leaked casino photograph related to the KRTC scandal that caused two high-ranking officials to step down.
DPP Legislator Ker Chien-ming (
Lee said on Wednesday that a "pan-green heavyweight" had seen the gambling photograph before it was aired on a talk show on cable station TVBS.
Lee earlier yesterday morning said that a lawmaker from the ruling party with a business background had teamed up with gangsters to release a photograph of former deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) and former Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) vice chairman Chen Min-hsien (陳敏賢) gambling at a casino on Cheju Island, South Korea.
Lee alleged that the photograph was first handed to gangsters, who then relayed it to the TV station.
The disclosure of the photo cost the two Chens their jobs.
Swearing on his "political reputation," Ker yesterday said that he had not seen the photograph until he read the newspaper the day after the photo was broadcast. He also dismissed a remark by DPP Legislator Tu Wen-ching (杜文卿), who reportedly said that Ker had seen the photograph, as "rubbish."
Meanwhile, independent legislator Chiu Yi (
Chiu alleged that the trip was aimed at persuading Wu and Kong to push the firm's public listing. A Gamania spokesman said Chiu's comments did not make sense as the firm was listed in 2001, while the trip took place in 2002.
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