Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday refused to apologize over his controversial trip to Hong Kong he made shortly before accepting the premiership, saying he would resign if he had offered an incorrect account of the visit.
Pressed for an apology on the first day of the new legislative session by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators over the trip, during which he met two members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Wu said: “I should not have to apologize.”
“I would do something to take responsibility if I had lied about anything surrounding the trip … including resigning,” Wu told DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-ching (葉宜津) during a question-and-answer session.
PHOTO: NICKY LOH, REUTERS
Since assuming office last Thursday, Wu has been bombarded with questions regarding the short trip he made to Hong Kong on Sept. 5, a sensitive time as it was after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had asked him to take the job as premier and before his appointment was announced on Sept. 6.
The issue was further complicated by inconsistent explanations offered by government officials on the purpose of Wu’s trip and the concealment of his meeting with Peter Kwok (郭炎), a CPPCC member, as well as his meeting with the man many see as Beijing’s preferred candidate for the territory’s next chief executive, Leung Chun-ying (梁振英).
Wu admitted that he had met with Leung, but his explanation that it was to discuss mudslide prevention methods was met with skepticism by the DPP.
The DPP has accused Wu of discussing his appointment as premier with Beijing’s representatives and seeking China’s prior approval.
“You first said you went there to find out more about [the Hong Kong administration’s work on] mudslide prevention, but then you said you didn’t, as it [Sept. 5] was a Saturday. First you said you were invited by Leung, but then Leung said you asked to see him. Then you said you didn’t meet with any Chinese officials, but you were pictured talking to Peter Kwok,” DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said.
Prior to the question-and-answer session, Wu struggled to deliver his administrative report amid calls for an apology.
Wu’s presentation was delayed by 80 minutes as DPP lawmakers staged a boycott of the session following his refusal to offer an apology for what they said were his “unclear accounts” of his trip and the “numerous lies” he had told when explaining it.
Flanked by DPP lawmakers holding banners that read: “Liar Yih, Apologize,” “Liar premier, how can you rule a country without honesty?” Wu skipped a large portion of his 15-page statement, polishing it off in just 10 minutes.
Wu raised his voice toward the end of his presentation as DPP lawmakers interrupted him by shouting “liar” whenever Wu talked about what he expected to achieve.
Approached by reporters during the lunch break, Wu said that he “has a clear conscience” about his trip to Hong Kong, so he couldn’t act rashly and offer an apology.
Wu acknowledged meeting Kwok after a picture of them standing outside a restaurant was published in Thursday’s Chinese-language Apple Daily, saying that Kwok introduced a fortune teller to his youngest son.
While the DPP continued to question Wu about the purpose of his meeting with Kwok, KMT Legislator Ho Tsai-feng (侯彩鳳) said that it was “not a surprise” that Wu went to see a fortune teller.
“It’s no secret that [Wu] has always sought the opinions of fortune tellers when he is at a crossroads. He does this and many people in the south know about it,” Ho said.
Earlier yesterday, Wu denied again that he went to see the fortune teller in Hong Kong himself.
Meanwhile, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) dismissed the allegation made by KMT Legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才) that Wu’s trip to Hong Kong was disclosed to DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by Mainland Affairs Council official Jeff Yang (楊家駿), the country’s representative to the territory.
DPP spokesman Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) also said it was not true.
“Lo’s accusation was not true at all — it is a KMT strategy to blur the issue,” Chao said yesterday. “The controversial thing about the trip is Wu’s honesty and the crisis of confidence in the Cabinet that results. No one should try to blur the focus.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LOA IOK-SIN
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
RSS