The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office appears set to begin summoning officials from the finance ministry today for questioning over allegations of financial impropriety against independent presidential candidate James Soong (
The prosecutors' office is also likely to summon Soong himself, as well as his financial advisor, Chen Pi-yun (
KMT legislator Yang Chi-hsiung (
Yang has filed charges of tax evasion against Soong.
The case against Soong involves funds totalling more than NT$1 billion that were deposited in accounts belonging to his relatives, including his son, sister-in-law and her son, which Soong has since claimed were intended to be used to care for relatives of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) as well as "party business."
Officials at the prosecutors' office said they had decided to begin the interrogatory sessions rather than waiting for further documents from the finance ministry.
The prosecutors' office will ask the ministry to supply additional information to clarify some points in its report.
The finance ministry has submitted a report on the Soong scandal to the prosecutors' office, but it does not include certain key evidence, including information on the seal Soong used for the "KMT secretary-general's account" he opened privately in the early 1990s.
At KMT headquarters, meanwhile, officials continued to attack Soong yesterday, saying he still has not clarified the origin and final destination of funds in the KMT secretary-general's account. The officials also asked him to disclose exactly how much money he actually remitted to the US between October and November, 1998, during the timethe provincial government was downsized.
Meanwhile, reports continues to emerge about so-called "donors" to party political funds.
The Chinese-language press reported yesterday that in December 1992, in the run up to the legislative elections, Soong received a check for NT$30 million without a designated payee from the local construction tycoon Liang Po-hsun (
Soong immediately put the donation into his KMT secretary-general's account, the report said.
The money was withdrawn from that account in early 1993 and used to buy securities at the Chunghsing Bills Finance Corp, the report said.
As the amount of Liang's donation was ten times the legal ceiling for corporate donations to political parties, investigative authorities are probing possible tax evasion and misappropriation by Soong, the report said.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS