New Party spokesman Wang Ping-chung (王炳忠) yesterday rejected prosecutors’ conclusion that an online news platform and association in which he is involved are funded by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, accusing prosecutors of making groundless accusations.
Wang made the remarks at an evening news conference in Taipei, called hours after the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleged that Chinese national Zhou Hongxu (周泓旭), convicted last year of violating the National Security Act (國家安全法), had in 2015 used his relations with Wang and two other New Party members to develop a spy organization in service of China through the Fire News (燎原新聞網) Web site and the New China Youth Association.
Wang established Fire News in 2015 and serves as chairman of the association.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“I hereby guarantee that Fire News has never received any funding from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]. It is just a crude Web site founded without any capital, nor is it registered as a company,” Wang said.
Wang said he and his friends founded the Web site, which publishes opinion pieces and simplified explanations of news events.
As for the association, Wang said it was established long before he became acquainted with Zhou, dismissing the possibility that it was used by Zhou to further his agenda.
Wang cast doubt on the credibility of the prosecutors’ conclusion, saying it was clearly only based on information they extracted from Zhou’s computer and that no concrete evidence was found.
New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming (郁慕明) also raised the possibility that someone from the prosecutors’ office leaked information of the investigation to media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻) while it was still ongoing, demanding that an investigation be launched into the matter.
“In her previous accusations, Chou used a specific phrase: ‘[Developing an organization that] listens to the party’s [CCP’s] orders and can be used during war.’ The same phase appeared in the prosecutors’ office’s news release,” Yok said.
Chou during a political talk show late last month said that Wang’s family received NT$5 million (US$168,759), presumably from China, and that Wang had established a paramilitary organization in Taiwan on behalf of the Chinese government.
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a