The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday again proposed “decriminalizing” the use of the special allowance fund by government chiefs.
The KMT caucus first suggested an amendment to the Audit Law (審計法) in April 2007 that would decriminalize government chiefs’ personal use of special allowance funds.
The move at the time was seen as a bid to clear embezzlement allegations against then-former Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who was indicted in February 2007 on charges of embezzling NT$11 million (US$338,000) from his special mayoral allowance during his eight years as Taipei mayor between December 1998 and July 2006.
Ma was found not guilty in the final verdict in April last year.
KMT caucus secretary-general Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) yesterday said that the last legislative session did not make any progress in “decriminalizing” government chiefs’ use of their special allowance funds because the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had insisted on also decriminalizing former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) use of his state affairs fund.
“Now that Chen has been found guilty in the first trial, we can now discuss [decriminalization] of [how the government chiefs use their] special allowance fund,” Lu said, referring to the verdict handed out by the Taipei District Court on Friday sentencing Chen and his wife Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) to life in prison in the first trial of Chen’s state affairs fund case.
Lu told reporters that it was necessary for the legislature to pass the legislation given that some 200 government chiefs are still being investigated for how they spent their special affairs funds.
How government chiefs spend their special affairs fund — a monthly fund for public relations purposes — became the subject of a controversy after former DPP legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) and others in 2006 accused Ma of misusing his special allowance fund during his tenure as Taipei mayor.
After Ma’s indictment, about 200 incumbent or former government chiefs from both the pan-blue and the pan-green camps, including then-vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃), were indicted by prosecutors for allegedly embezzling their special affairs funds.
DPP Policy Research Committee head Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the previous legislative session had reached a consensus to push through the legislation during the upcoming fall session, but the KMT caucus had insisted on dealing with the matter only after a ruling was handed down in the first trial of Chen’s case.
The proposed amendment to decriminalize government chiefs’ personal use of special allowance funds means delinking the issue from the president’s use of the state affairs fund, an idea that members of the DPP are divided on.
DPP caucus whip Wang Sing-nan (王幸男) said he would propose a motion during the party’s Central Standing Committee on Wednesday, suggesting that the president’s state affairs fund be included in the proposed amendment.
“In essence, the function of the state affairs fund is the same as that of the [government chiefs’] special allowance fund. The only difference is that they are being called by two different names,” he said. “It would be unfair and unreasonable if the state affairs fund is not included in the amendment.”
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2