Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers accused former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (
"The presidential fund was not supposed to be used by Lien Chan, who was then the vice president, but he spent NT$17.25 million [US$521,000] from 1996 to 2000," DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said in the legislature yesterday.
"During his four years as vice-president, Lien Chan provided no receipts for his expenses. Why was the Ministry of Audit not aware of this illegality?" Kuan asked at a legislative question-and-answer session yesterday.
Auditor-General Su Chen-ping (
Su told Kuan that it was a violation of the regulations to claim reimbursements from the fund without providing receipts, and added that the ministry would look into the case.
But later yesterday, when KMT legislators Lin Yi-shih (林益世) and Alex Fai (費鴻泰) asked Su to explain whether Lien had been involved in any "irregularities," Su said "No."
Su said that Lien's use of the fund was contained in the final account statement which had been approved by the legislature.
"There is no illegality," Su said.
Later on, while asked to comment on Su's response to the KMT lawmakers, Kuan said that Su should not use different criteria for Lien and President Chen Shui-bian (
DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (
Prosecutors are investigating claims that Chen pocketed state funds by using fake receipts for reimbursements from the president's personal allowance fund, some of which were from personal expenses of members of the first family. Chen has denied the allegation, saying that he had neither embezzled money from the fund nor used false receipts for reimbursement.
He says the fund has been used solely for tasks related to confidential diplomatic missions, which meant that no receipts were available.
Lien didn't respond directly to the DPP lawmakers' accusations yesterday, but a press release issued by his office denied that Lien had used the state fund when he was vice president.
The DPP lawmakers also accused Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) of embezzling state funds, and provided some examples.
"On June 13, 1961, Chiang Kai-shek used NT$4,560 from state funds to buy milk powder imported from abroad. On June 14, 1963, he used NT$1,676 to buy medicines, pickles and cigarettes, among other items. On Sept. 14, 1973, NT$18,265 was used by Chiang for his grandson Chiang Hsiao-yung's (蔣孝勇) wedding photos," Kuan said.
SILENCING CRITICS: In addition to blocking Taiwan, China aimed to prevent rights activists from speaking out against authoritarian states, a Cabinet department said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned transnational repression by Beijing after RightsCon, a major digital human rights conference scheduled to be held in Zambia this week, was abruptly canceled due to Chinese pressure over Taiwanese participation. This year’s RightsCon, the world’s largest conference discussing issues “at the intersection of human rights and technology,” was scheduled to take place from tomorrow to Friday in Lusaka, and expected to draw 2,600 in-person attendees from 150 countries, along with 1,100 online participants. However, organizers were forced to cancel the event due to behind-the-scenes pressure from China, the ministry said, expressing its “strongest condemnation”
DELAYED BUT DETERMINED: The president’s visit highlights Taiwan’s right to international engagement amid regional pressure from China President Willaim Lai (賴清德) yesterday arrived in Eswatini, more than a week after his planned visit to Taiwan’s sole African ally was suspended because of revoked overflight permits. “The visit, originally scheduled for April 22, was postponed due to unforeseen external factors,” Lai wrote on social media. “After several days of careful arrangements by our diplomatic and national security teams, we successfully arrived today.” Lai said he looked forward to further deepening Taiwan-Eswatini relations through closer cooperation in the economy, agriculture, culture and education, as well as advancing the nation’s international partnerships. The president was initially scheduled to arrive in time to celebrate
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) yesterday said the US faced a choice between an “impossible” military operation or a “bad deal” with Tehran, after US President Donald Trump disparaged Iran’s latest peace proposal. Negotiations between the two countries have been deadlocked since a ceasefire came into effect on April 8, with only one round of direct peace talks held so far. Iran’s Tasnim and Fars news agencies reported that Tehran had submitted a 14-point proposal to mediator Pakistan, but Trump was quick to cast doubt on it. “I will soon be reviewing the plan that Iran has just sent to us, but
A group affiliated with indicted Chinese immigrant Xu Chunying (徐春鶯) is to be dissolved for monitoring Chinese immigrants in Taiwan, a source said yesterday. Xu, the secretary-general of the Cross-Strait Marriage and Family Service Alliance, was indicted on March 24 on charges of violating the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法). The alliance “illegally monitored" Chinese immigrants living in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Ministry of the Interior is expected to dissolve the organization in the coming days under provisions of the Civil Associations Act (人民團體法), the source said. Xu, who married a Taiwanese in 1993 and became a Republic
RSS