US Representative David Wu (吳振偉) will not seek re-election next year, a spokesman said on Monday, in the wake of allegations that the seven-term Democratic lawmaker from Oregon engaged in unwanted sexual activity with a teenage daughter of a donor.
“He has spoken with leadership and at this point has only said that he will not be seeking re-election next year. He’s got a lot to consider about his political future,” said Eric Dorey, Wu’s spokesman.
Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives have called for an immediate ethics investigation after an article in the Oregonian said that a young woman had left a voice mail message at Wu’s Portland office accusing him of what the newspaper described as “aggressive and unwanted sexual behavior.”
The Taiwan-born Wu has said the encounter was consensual.
In a letter to the House Ethics Committee on Monday, Representative Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House leader, said an investigation “is warranted” to determine whether he “engaged in inappropriate activities.”
Fellow Democrats appeared wary of getting ahead of her request. When asked if he thought Wu should resign, Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, said he wanted to learn more before commenting.
Democratic Representative John Larson said he spoke with Wu over the weekend, and he hinted that Wu is confronting the issue of whether he should resign.
“I asked him how he was doing, and I told him he should be concerned first and foremost about his children and his family ... He acknowledged he has a very difficult decision coming up,” Larson said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique