Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said she did not rule out filing a lawsuit over personal data she claims has illegally passed on to government agencies to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers.
Appearing on a talk show on Wednesday night, KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) said that Tsai had been receiving NT$62,800 (US$2,158) a month from a preferential 18 percent savings account for retired civil servants — a program the DPP opposes. Calling Tsai, a former Mainland Affairs Council chairperson, “shameless,” Chiu said she had NT$4.1 million in deposits in the special account and questioned her motives for seeking to end the system.
Aside from Tsai, Chiu revealed information about several DPP politicians who have also benefited from the 18 percent plan, including the amounts deposited into their accounts and the number of years they served in government before retiring.
PHOTO: LO PEI-DER, TAIPEI TIMES
Chiu said former Examination Yuan president Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) was receiving NT$22,500 a month, former presidential adviser Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) NT$47,100 and former premier Yu Shyi-kun (游錫堃) NT$29,200 — all from the 18 percent savings plan.
Such information could not have been acquired without the assistance of government -agencies, -including the Ministry of Civil Service and the Examination Yuan, DPP lawmakers said in the legislature.
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang--liang (蔡煌瑯) said the leak appeared to be part of a targeted approach to embarrass DPP politicians.
“All the information released by Chiu was personal data,” he said. “How did Chiu acquire this material?”
“We suspect the government deliberately gave the information to KMT lawmakers to help in their partisan attacks,” Tsai Huang-liang said.
At a subsequent press conference, Tsai Ing-wen said that based on the accuracy of the information, it was “without doubt” provided by government agencies.
As the incident was not isolated, leaks would continue unless the matter was investigated, she said.
She would not say against whom a lawsuit, if filed, would be directed.
“It’s a serious problem ... I have directed my lawyers to look into it,” she said. “At this point, however, I do not want to turn the focus away from the preferential savings -reform onto my personal issues.”
Tsai Ing-wen has since said she would close the account, adding that she had already donated all past gains to charity.
The DPP’s reaction left Chiu unfazed, who told reporters he would welcome any lawsuit over the controversy.
“In all the instances they [the DPP] threatened to — or actually did — sue me, when did they ever win?” he said. “The DPP should not embarrass itself again ... It knows nothing good will come out of fighting a case against ‘Taiwan’s No. 1 lawsuit expert.’”
Also commenting on the matter, KMT Legislator Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) said Tsai Ing-wen should not have agreed to benefit from the preferential savings plan in the first place.
Officials from the Ministry of Civil Service and the Examination Yuan refused to comment on potential lawsuits or allegations that they were the source of the leaked information.
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