President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday apologized over a duty-free cigarette smuggling scandal that reportedly involved several agencies, and ordered that they fully cooperate with investigations.
Tsai made the remarks at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei after presenting awards to Presidential Hackathon winners.
She also apologized to the foreign affairs officials who prepared and accompanied her on a visit this month to the nation’s Caribbean allies, as the affair has overshadowed the significance of her trip.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In her capacity as president, Tsai apologized that her administration had not detected the longstanding malpractice earlier.
Her administration would assume full responsibility for the scandal, regardless of how many former administrations had also engaged in the practice, she said.
It was the first time that Tsai apologized over the incident since it came to light on Monday.
She also clarified a remark she made on Friday in which she called the action “excessive buying” of cigarettes, which led some to question the government’s resolve to hold the culprits accountable.
The public can rest assured that the government would be steadfast in its resolve to get to the bottom of the incident, Tsai said.
Meanwhile, the office punished presidential security officers who were found to have been complicit or negligent in the incident.
Former chief aide-de-camp to the president Chang Chieh (張捷), who had been transferred, received one major and two minor demerits, while deputy aide-de-camp to the president Liu Hui-chien (柳惠千) received one major and one minor demerit.
Chief security guards Lin Kuo-chin (林國欽) and Chen Yi-fu (陳逸夫), both major generals, each received a major demerit, as did aide-de-camp division members Hsiung Yang-kuo (熊楊國), Yang Wen-chin (楊文津) and Chen Min-hua (陳敏華).
Former National Security Bureau director-general Peng Sheng-chu (彭勝竹) has resigned over the incident, and personnel who were negligent in their management and supervisory duties have been duly punished, Tsai said.
She told national security officers that they shoulder a great responsibility and should always maintain their sense of responsibility and honor.
Hopefully, the incident would serve as a reminder that all national security personnel must swiftly correct any mistakes to retain the public’s trust, she said.
Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) said that the paperwork accompanying the punishments would be finished as quickly as possible.
The office would mete out further punishments according to the results of the judiciary’s investigation, he added.
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