Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers accused the Taipei City Government yesterday of fabricating stories to obfuscate any evidence of embezzlement from Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
Ma on Wednesday said that his office's mishandling of the special mayoral allowance had been the result of an "administrative defect" brought about by Taipei City Government staffer Yu Wen (
Ma said that he had not been aware of Yu's substitutions.
"We have received information that Sun Chen-ni (孫振妮), a secretary in Ma's office, has admitted to prosecutors that she helped Yu to collect false receipts for reimbursement," DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) told a press conference.
DPP Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (
"The staffer said he had decided to reveal the information to me because he was uphappy that Ma was not taking responsibility for the irregularities," Hsieh said at a separate press conference, without identifying the informant.
Director of the mayor's office Cheng An-kuo (鄭安國), who resigned on Wednesday, said that 3,758 original receipts amounting to NT$1,410,898 (US$43,000) had been replaced, and that Yu's receipts added up to between NT$800,000 and NT$900,000, suggesting there was no room for embezzlement.
Cheng said that a backup fund had been created to cover any deficit in Ma's special mayoral allowance, and that Yu had claimed reimbursements against this fund.
DPP lawmakers said that they did not find the inconsistencies in the city government's explanations surprising at all.
That Yu substituted receipts to reduce his paperwork is a lie, Kuan said.
"Before Yu was transferred to another post [in June], he had been handling the reimbursement for 882 days. Was he really so busy that he couldn't deal with an average of four [original] receipts per day?" Kuan asked.
Kuan questioned whether Cheng had fabricated a story about the backup fund to explain away inconsistencies and confuse prosecutors.
DPP lawmakers also called into question Cheng's statement that "Ma's mayoral allowance fund was used for public affairs and public welfare, including red envelopes for newlyweds and white envelopes for funerals."
"According to a document from the Ministry of Audit, the Taipei City Government has earmarked NT$1.8 million annually for this purpose. Why did they need extra money from Ma's mayoral allowance fund for this purpose?" Hsieh asked.
Taipei City Government Secretariat Director Lee Sush-der's (李述德) statement that half of Ma's monthly mayoral allocation of NT$80,000 had been used to reward his staff was also questionable, the lawmakers added.
"In 2001 and 2002, more than 90 percent of Ma's special allowance fund was used to reward his staff members. It's unusual. Even more unusual is that this percentage dropped sharply from 2003, when Yu started handling the reimbursement," Kuan said.
In response, Lee later yesterday said the allocation of NT$1.8 million had not been enough to cover all contributions to weddings and funerals, and so part of the fund was used to pay for these expenses.
In response to the DPP's accusation that the backup fund did not exist, Lee said that part of the fund came from the mayor, who received the money as a reward from the central government for the city government's handling of traffic violations.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday urged the public not to judge Ma until a verdict has been rendered.
"Only judges are authorized to decide whether Mayor Ma is guilty or not. We should respect everybody, especially since Ma has not been convicted of anything," Su said when approached by the media for comment.
"People make mistakes. It does not matter whether you are pan-blue or pan-green," he said.
also see story:
KMT's Ko recants anti-Ma comments
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source