The KMT may soon file a lawsuit against independent presidential candidate James Soong (
Huang gave Soong a 24-hour deadline by which time he had to clarify the origin of funds remitted during the past several years from the KMT "secretary-general's special account" -- opened under Soong's name -- to the accounts of Soong's son and his sister-in-law.
Huang said Soong has never given an adequate explanation of either the origin or the final destination of those funds.
Also yesterday, Soong's financial advisor, his sister-in-law Chen Pi-yun (陳碧雲), appeared in a morning interview on UFO Radio, joined by New Party legislator Hsieh Chi-ta (謝啟大) -- who has headed a privately-based investigation into the allegations of financial misdeeds against Soong and lawyer Tsai Yu-ling (蔡玉玲), a member of Hsieh's investigation team.
In response to accusations that Soong had remitted between US$4 million to US$6 million overseas to make investments there, Chen said the overseas remittances were used for "scholarships."
She said the remittances had been described as "family support expenses" (
Chen also guaranteed that neither she, Soong, nor his wife held any investments in the US.
When asked why she had not reported the campaign subsidies Soong received from the Central Election Committee after the Taiwan province gubernatorial election in 1994 to tax authorities, Chen said she had "never heard of anyone reporting such funds [as income]."
Hsieh, meanwhile, handed her team's report to finance ministry officials yesterday morning, but the officials declined to give her their ministry's report on its own investigation, as Hsieh had requested.
Minister of Finance Paul Chiu (
Hsieh's team and the finance ministry disagree over several important aspects of the Soong affair, including the total amount of money remitted.
Chen and Hsieh's team maintain that the total was US$4.09 million, while the finance ministry said it was US$6.36 million.
The ministry sent its report to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office on Dec. 31. Yesterday, chief prosecutor Hung Tai-wen (洪泰文) said he planned to summon ministry officials to clarify some points in the report.
For its part, the ministry plans to summon Soong's donors for questioning soon to investigate possible tax evasion, according to ministry officials. Both the donors and recipients of contributions dating back to 1992 will be summoned, the officials said.
Apart from the finance ministry and the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, the Control Yuan and the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau are also conducting probes into Soong's financial affairs.
KEY INDUSTRY: The vice premier discussed a plan to create a non-red drone supply chain by next year, which has been allocated a budget of more than NT$7.2 billion The government has budgeted NT$44.2 billion (US$1.38 billion) to cultivate Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) industry over the next five years, which would make the nation a major player in the industry’s democratic supply chain in the Asia-Pacific region, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. Cho made the remarks during a visit to the facilities of Cub Elecparts Inc (為升電裝). Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Su-yueh (陳素月) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsieh Yi-fong (謝依鳳) also participated in the trip. Cub Elecparts has transitioned from the automotive industry to the defense industry, which is the top priority among the nation’s
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
SUFFICIENT: The president said Taiwan has enough oil for next month, with reserves covering more than 100 days and natural gas enough for 12 to 14 days A restart plan for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) would be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of the month, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, reversing the government’s policy to abolish nuclear energy. On May 17 last year, Taiwan shut down its last nuclear reactor and became the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia, fulfilling the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government’s pledge of a “nuclear-free homeland.” Even without nuclear power, Taiwan can maintain a stable electricity supply until 2032,
DEROGATORY: WTO host Cameroon’s designation of Taiwan as a ‘province of China’ seriously undermines the nation’s status and rights as a WTO member, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned Cameroon for listing Taiwan as “Taiwan, Province of China” in visa documents for an upcoming WTO ministerial conference, a move that led to Taiwan’s withdrawal from the event. The designation “seriously undermined” Taiwan’s status and rights as a WTO member, the ministry said in a statement. It is the first time since 2001 that Taiwan has declined to attend a WTO Ministerial Conference. The conference is scheduled to take place from Thursday to Sunday next week in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon. Taiwan had planned to send a delegation led by Minister Without Portfolio
RSS