The Control Yuan yesterday failed to impeach the nation’s top prosecutor at the center of a political storm involving President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Despite repeated calls by the opposition for his resignation, state Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) gained some breathing space after the Control Yuan vote ended in a tie.
According to Control Yuan regulations, a tie is considered a vote against the motion.
Photo: CNA
The case stems from allegations that Huang leaked classified information by briefing the president on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 about an ongoing investigation into alleged improper lobbying by Wang. The incident snowballed into a political scandal following revelations that the Special Investigation Division (SID), which Huang heads, wiretapped the legislature.
Huang later apologized for what he said was the SID’s negligence in mistakenly wiretapping the legislature’s switchboard.
Huang was indicted on Nov. 1. He has said that he would step down if he was impeached over his role in the wiretapping of the legislature’s telephone line and alleged leaking of classified information.
Control Yuan member Hung Te-hsuan (洪德旋) —who initiated the investigation into the case after the Control Yuan received complaints by the Judicial Reform Foundation that said the government watchdog should look into Huang’s and the SID’s actions and determine their administrative responsibility in the case — declined to comment on the result of the voting.
He also declined to comment when asked by reporters whether he would refile the motion against Huang.
However, one Control Yuan member who wished to remain anonymous, voiced indignation over the voting result.
“I am very angry. People can’t tell right from wrong,” the official 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
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
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
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