The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed an allegation that National Security Council (NSC) Secretary-General Su Chi (蘇起) asked the Ministry of the Interior to provide maritime research on the waters around Taiwan to China.
Calling the allegation “groundless,” Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) urged Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) to take responsibility for the allegation.
“It is regrettable that he uses groundless rumors to mislead the public and sap the morale of government officials,” Wang said.
Pan-green legislators yesterday said they would sue President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Su for treason. Chai alleged that Su gave the Chinese government the results of maritime research conducted by the Ministry of the Interior on Taiwan’s seabed and reefs, including classified information.
The information was given to Beijing with Su’s assistance, Chai said.
DPP Legislator Gao Jhy-peng (高志鵬) said “Ma has gone too far this time” and that the DPP legislative caucus had decided to sue Ma and Su for treason. Gao added that their actions showed that Ma and Su were “siding with the enemy” and Ma’s decision to share classified information with Beijing amounted to treason.
“We are definitely filing the suit,” Gao said.
In a statement released later yesterday afternoon, the NSC said Su had requested that his lawyer, Taipei City Councilor Lai Su-ru (賴素如), issue a written request demanding that Chai apologize within 24 hours and retract his allegation or face a defamation lawsuit.
Rejecting Chai’s accusation as “baseless” and “false,” the statement said it was “utterly unethical and irresponsible” for Chai to make such an accusation.
It was the first time the NSC had issued a statement since Ma took office in May last year.
An NSC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the NSC could no longer tolerate unfounded allegations made against it.
“Don’t think they can continue to bully us simply because we never fight back,” the official said, adding that Chai did not enjoy immunity because he did not make the remarks in the legislature.
Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森) also dismissed Chai’s allegation, saying the information had been gathered in accordance with regulations and procedures.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND CNA
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS