The Presidential Office yesterday denied allegations that money from President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) special allowance fund had been used to buy diamond rings for the first lady.
"All the money has been used for public purposes and diplomatic missions," Presidential Office Spokesman David Lee (
Although receipts for the purchase of two diamond rings were used to apply for reimbursement from the fund, the rings had been paid for by the first family, Lee said.
One of the rings, worth NT$1.3 million (US$41,484), was given to Chen's mother-in-law as a gift, Lee said. However, he could not offer a clear accounting for the other ring, valued at NT$320,000.
He was responding to the Control Yuan's request for an explanation as to why the rings were not in the first family's assets declaration.
However, the Presidential Office's Public Affairs Department late last night said that Lee's remarks on the two diamond rings "needed further verification."
Lee appeared to contradict the Taipei District prosecutors' statement that Chen had claimed some of the money from the special allowance fund had been used to buy gifts for Wu. Prosecutors said NT$276,235 of the purchase of the NT$1.3 million diamond ring had been paid for with Sogo Department Store vouchers.
Meanwhile, Lee downplayed Chen's claim that a US lobbying firm had threatened to switch its services to China if the government refused to renew its contract.
"The president just expressed the concern that the company might disclose classified information to China if it [Beijing] signs a contract with them," Lee said.
"The president did not accuse the firm of making a threat nor did he specify which firm he was referring to," Lee said.
In a Sunday press conference, Chen said: "This firm said that if we did not renew the contract, they would go to China ? It is the nation's interests we are talking about. If they sign a contract with China, it would have a great impact on our national interests because they know so many of our secrets. So I decided to renew the contract for another year."
The US public relations firm Cassidy & Associates issued a statement on Monday saying: "The president's information is wrong."
GAINING STEAM: The scheme initially failed to gather much attention, with only 188 cards issued in its first year, but gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic Applications for the Employment Gold Card have increased in the past few years, with the card having been issued to a total of 13,191 people from 101 countries since its introduction in 2018, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. Those who have received the card have included celebrities, such as former NBA star Dwight Howard and Australian-South Korean cheerleader Dahye Lee, the NDC said. The four-in-one Employment Gold Card combines a work permit, resident visa, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) and re-entry permit. It was first introduced in February 2018 through the Act Governing Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及雇用法),
RESILIENCE: Deepening bilateral cooperation would extend the peace sustained over the 45 years since the Taiwan Relations Act, Greene said Taiwan-US relations are built on deep economic ties and shared values, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday, adding that strengthening supply chain security in critical industries, enhancing societal resilience through cooperation and deepening partnerships are key to ensuring peace and stability for Taiwan in the years ahead. Greene made the remarks at the National Security Youth Forum, organized by National Taiwan University’s National Security and Strategy Studies Institution in Taipei. In his address in Mandarin Chinese, Greene said the Taiwan-US relationship is built on deep economic ties and shared interests, and grows stronger through the enduring friendship between
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications yesterday said that it would redesign the written portion of the driver’s license exam to make it more rigorous. “We hope that the exam can assess drivers’ understanding of traffic rules, particularly those who take the driver’s license test for the first time. In the past, drivers only needed to cram a book of test questions to pass the written exam,” Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) told a news conference at the Taoyuan Motor Vehicle Office. “In the future, they would not be able to pass the test unless they study traffic regulations
‘COMING MENACINGLY’: The CDC advised wearing a mask when visiting hospitals or long-term care centers, on public transportation and in crowded indoor venues Hospital visits for COVID-19 last week increased by 113 percent to 41,402, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, as it encouraged people to wear a mask in three public settings to prevent infection. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 have been increasing for seven consecutive weeks, and 102 severe COVID-19 cases and 19 deaths were confirmed last week, both the highest weekly numbers this year. CDC physician Lee Tsung-han (李宗翰) said the youngest person hospitalized due to the disease this year was reported last week, a one-month-old baby, who does not
RSS