Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members yesterday provided futher evidence in support of allegations that Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) hired a family member who was allegedly involved in the Lin Yi-shih (林益世) scandal to handle his political donations.
Hau Ying-chiao (郝英嬌), Wu’s sister-in-law, was in charge of his campaign finances and political donations in 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2004, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) and DPP Central Executive Committee member Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) said on Sunday and yesterday via Facebook messages.
Hau has reportedly been in close contact with Wu Men-chung (吳門忠), a Nantou-based supporter of Wu Den-yih who allegedly admitted receiving a NT$10 million (US$330,000) kickback in the Lin scandal. Hau allegedly called Wu Men-chung to say a report in the Chinese-language Next magazine had linked him and Wu Den-yih.
Wu Den-yih has spent the past week clarifying — with conflicting explanations — the report that hinted at his possible role in the Lin scandal.
The former premier, who has vehemently denied his involvement in the Lin scandal, first said Hau was a housewife who did not handle political affairs, but later admitted that she helped with campaign finances in 1994 and 1998, adding that it was natural for family members to help out with campaign affairs.
Chao said that Hau’s handling of political donations and campaign finances was neither illegal nor immoral, but asked why Wu Den-yih “had to lie about it.”
While there was no evidence that part of Wu Men-chung’s kickback had been transferred to Hau or the vice president, Chao said that the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office should probe Hau’s role in the scandal and records of Wu Den-yih’s political donations.
Meanwhile, former DPP -Kaohsiung city councilor Huang Chao-hsing (黃昭星), accused Wu Den-yih of illegally hiring his sister-in-law, Huang A-hsueh (黃阿雪) in the Kaohsiung City Government.
Wu Den-yih, who served as Kaohsiung mayor from 1990 to 1998, said yesterday that the hiring was legal.
In reponse to reporters’ questions, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the party would not speculate on whether Wu Den-yih was involved in the Lin scandal, but said that the vice president “has not been telling the truth to the public.”
“Honesty is the best policy. Wu [Den-yih] is responsible and obligated to offer a clear explanation to the people,” Lin said, urging the SID to open an investigation.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS