A recent investigation into allegations of bribery against the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Taichung mayoral candidate, Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), has DPP officials questioning whether it was politically motivated.
“This issue doesn’t look like it has anything to do with bribery — yet they are [wasting] the resources of police and prosecutors,” DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday, referring to the event in which Su, while meeting with the coach and players from Shi Yuan Senior High School hours before they left for the World Junior Baseball Championships in the US last month, gave the group a NT$20,000 donation and promised them a dinner when they came back.
“They shouldn’t act rashly on this, as it could have important implications for the upcoming elections,” Tsai said.
Team coach Huang Wu-hsiung (黃武雄) was questioned by prosecutors last week for accepting Su’s donation on behalf of the team.
Su, a former minister of the interior, said he only wanted to encourage the players and give them some financial support before they left. The check came from a group of team supporters who had asked Su to present it on its behalf, he said.
“All I did was … represent this group of supporters to encourage our aspiring national athletes, but if the prosecutors should be questioning anybody, it should be me and not the coach,” Su said.
He also asked why his support for the team before their departure was questioned, but it was fine when his opponent, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), treated the entire team to a lavish dinner after they won the title.
“It almost seems like it’s okay when they try ‘to add flowers to the brocade,’ but I have problems when I try ‘to give a gift of charcoal in snowy weather,’” Su said.
Ministry of Justice regulations on election bribery state that gifts by candidates should be kept under NT$30. However, in revisions published last September, the ministry said cash or gifts given for activities, including temple events, weddings and other “cultural events,” should be exempted.
Lin Feng-jeng (林峰正), executive director at the Judicial Reform Foundation, said since Su was not an official candidate yet — registration for the elections begins later this month — the regulations shouldn’t applys.
“Based on this fact alone, the investigation is completely groundless,” he said. “Besides, when we talk about bribery, it’s clearly aimed at money that influences voting behavior — something that is missing from the picture when we consider that the players are high school students.”
“What’s next? Are we going to start investigating politicians who give donations at temples or red envelopes at weddings?” he said.
According to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office, the investigation started after it received a public complaint about the gift.
At a separate setting, when asked for comment yesterday, Hu said there was nothing wrong about him in his capacity as the city mayor treating the team to a meal to celebrate its victory.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
DETERRENCE: With 1,000 indigenous Hsiung Feng II and III missiles and 400 Harpoon missiles, the nation would boast the highest anti-ship missile density in the world With Taiwan wrapping up mass production of Hsiung Feng II and III missiles by December and an influx of Harpoon missiles from the US, Taiwan would have the highest density of anti-ship missiles in the world, a source said yesterday. Taiwan is to wrap up mass production of the indigenous anti-ship missiles by the end of year, as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has been meeting production targets ahead of schedule, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said. Combined with the 400 Harpoon anti-ship missiles Taiwan expects to receive from the US by 2028, the nation would have
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
‘UNWAVERING FRIENDSHIP’: A representative of a Japanese group that co-organized a memorial, said he hopes Japanese never forget Taiwan’s kindness President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, urging continued cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and humanitarian assistance. Lai wrote on social media that Taiwan and Japan have always helped each other in the aftermath of major disasters. The magnitude 9 earthquake struck northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, triggering a massive tsunami that claimed more than 19,000 lives, according to data from Japanese authorities. Following the disaster, Taiwan donated more than US$240 million in aid, making it one of the largest contributors of financial assistance to Japan. In addition to cash donations and
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
RSS