Amid allegations over his relationship with a convicted double murderer and former Nantou County gang boss, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday said he would resign if the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) could provide any evidence of irregularities in their relationship.
The DPP candidate for next month’s Nantou County commissioner election, Lee Wen-chung (李文忠), has accused Wu of arranging the distribution of benefits from the local gravel trade and the election of a new Nantou County Council speaker and vice speaker during a trip to Bali, Indonesia, last December.
He alleges that Chiang Chin-liang (江欽良), a paroled convicted felon, and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) also went on the trip.
“Lee said he had evidence. Please make the evidence public within three days and I will resign immediately,” Wu Den-yih said.
He added: “If not, [Lee] must apologize, otherwise I will bring a criminal action against Lee for slander and demand civil compensation to clarify the truth and defend my reputation.”
The DPP has continued to question the premier’s links to Chiang since local media on Wednesday reported Wu and his wife were caught on camera vacationing in Bali with Chiang and Lee Chao-ching.
Wu yesterday called a press conference to respond to the allegations after comments he made about not helping Chiang obtain special permission to meet Kuo Ping-hui (郭平輝), a gangster and the mastermind behind an infamous 2007 staged televised video threat, were undermined.
On Thursday, Wu Den-yih denied any involvement in the January meeting.
But Wu Cheng-po (吳正博), warden of the prison in Taichung where Kuo is incarcerated, told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) on Thursday, that the face-to-face meeting between Chiang and Kuo was arranged by the premier in his then capacity as a lawmaker.
Saying that helping voters meet inmates was one of the services lawmakers often provide, Wu Den-yih added that such matters are usually taken care of by legislative assistants.
“I didn’t know anything about the meeting before [Thursday] ... but now I’ve discovered my local office helped Chiang, I won’t detach myself from that,” Wu Den-yih said.
Wu Den-yih said that he had spoken to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) by telephone on Thursday night, adding that Ma had backed him over the matter.
“President Ma said that everyone makes mistakes and we should accept people who have erred as long as they know they are wrong. If they consistently fail to repent, they will be held legally responsible,” Wu Den-yih said.
He added that he had never criticized the DPP for visits by its members to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), who had been sentenced over corruption charges.
In Nantou, Chiang said he had paid a huge debt for mistakes he made 20 years ago and even his wife knew nothing about his criminal record.
Chiang said he does not know Wu Den-yih very well. He said Wu was just a casual acquaintance and they occasionally ran into each other at activities in Nantou County.
Saying that he had been a supporter of the DPP, Chiang said he had helped former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in organizing activities and had met former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌).
Meanwhile, the DPP continued to hammer the premier over his association with Chiang and said Wu should resign immediately because he had lost credibility.
While both the premier and Chiang have said he is a “changed man” and an upstanding citizen, the DPP said it suspected Chiang was still a local gang boss involved in the gravel industry and the night market scene.
Talking of the prison meeting, DPP Spokesman Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said: “At first Wu denied it, but later flipped to say it was his assistant. He has obviously lied and therefore he must issue a public apology.”
Rejecting Wu Den-yih’s claim that the process was handled by his staffer, Tsai said such an arrangement would require the personal appearance of a lawmaker.
“If Chiang and Wu [Den-yi] were not good buddies as they have claimed, then why go on a vacation together and why did Wu agree to arrange the meeting,” the spokesman asked, saying Wu had lost credibility.
DPP legislator William Lai (賴清德) demanded that Wu Den-yih disclose who paid for the Bali trip, adding that given his alleged ties with gangsters, Lee Chao-ching should drop out of the Nantou County commissioner race immediately.
At a press conference, Chiang said Lee Wen-chung only started accusing him of being a crime boss after he turned down his plea for support — an allegation strongly denied by the DPP nominee.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
CHINA’s BULLYING: The former British prime minister said that he believes ‘Taiwan can and will’ protect its freedom and democracy, as its people are lovers of liberty Former British prime minister Boris Johnson yesterday said Western nations should have the courage to stand with and deepen their economic partnerships with Taiwan in the face of China’s intensified pressure. He made the remarks at the ninth Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prospect Foundation in Taipei. Johnson, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time, said he had seen Taiwan’s coastline on a screen on his indoor bicycle, but wanted to learn more about the nation, including its artificial intelligence (AI) development, the key technology of the 21st century. Calling himself an
RSS