The Supreme Prosecutors Office yesterday night indicted Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun and National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) on suspicion of misusing their special allowance funds.
DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (
Spokesman for the Supreme Prosecutors Office's Special Investigation Panel Chen Yun-nan (
Prosecutor Chen alleged that between December 2000 and May last year Lu used a total of 1,005 fraudulent receipts to claim reimbursements from her special allowance fund.
Chen added that the receipts, collected by Lu's office staff and security guards, amounted to NT$5.6 million (US$170,000).
Prosecutor Chen said that Yu used the same method to claim reimbursements from his special funds between October 2000 and December 2005 during his time as secretary-general of the presidential office and premier.
Yu used a total of 516 receipts from others to claim NT$2.3 million Prosecutor Chen said.
Mark Chen used a total of 106 receipts from others to claim NT$368,000 between July 2004 and June last year while serving as minister of foreign affairs and secretary-general of the presidential office, the spokesman said.
Prosecutor Chen said prosecutors found that Hsieh did not use other people's receipts to claim reimbursements from his special fund while serving as Kaohsiung mayor and premier.
Su was also cleared.
Prosecutors in November last year indicted first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Wu's case is still pending at the Taiwan District Court.
The charges made against Lu, Yu and Chen are similar in nature to those leveled at Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who on Feb. 13 was indicted on corruption charges for embezzling NT$11 million (US$333,000) from his special mayoral allowance during his eight years in office.
The District Court found Ma not guilty of those charges on Aug. 14.
Prosecutors then decided to appeal the ruling.
Responding to the indictments, DPP legislative caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (
He said the indictments would have a negative influence on the party's election campaign and the party had to deal with the problem of whether Yu should be disciplined and removed from the chairmanship.
Late last night, DPP Secretary-General Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) called a press conference criticizing prosecutors for applying double standards in handling the case of KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou and the DPP leaders.
When investigating the case of Ma's special allowance fund, prosecutors focused on the portion under Ma's secretary Yu Wen's (余文) responsibility and put the blame on him. But the prosecutors did not use that method in the investigation of DPP figures, Lin said.
Lin also slammed prosecutors for delaying their investigations into the cases of four top KMT leaders -- vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), former chairman Lien Chan (連戰), Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) and Secretary General Wu Den-yih (吳敦義).
Yu, who left for Canada on Thursday, was unavailable for comment.
Director of the DPP's Department of Culture and Information Super Meng (
President Chen Shui-bian (
The president said that he supported them in taking judicial steps to defend their reputations, and expressed the hope that the judicial branch would deal impartially with their cases.
When approached by reporters in front of her residence late last night, Lu said that the indictment was "a bolt from the blue."
Lu said she had yet to see details of the indictment, but that she had always used her special allowance funds for public purposes.
Meanwhile, Hsieh, who had promised to drop out of the presidential race if indicted in relation to the case, said he was not surprised by the result on his part because he was confident in the legality of the spending of his special mayoral allowance.
Hsieh refused to comment on Lu, Chen and Yu, saying that he didn't understand their cases and had not had a chance to read the indictments.
KMT Legislator Kuo Su-chun (郭素春) said in response to the trio's indictment that what intrigued her was the "incredible coincidence" that Hsieh and Su, who are running in the presidential race, had not been indicted.
Kuo said that the party would examine the standards prosecutors used to indict Ma and those applied to Hsieh and Su to see whether Hsieh and Su were as strictly examined as Ma had been.
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
RSS