DPP legislative caucus leader Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said yesterday that central government officials have been colluding with legislators to push investments in venture capital companies in preparation for the upcoming presidential election.
Chen's allegations came a day after accusations that state-run banks have been pressured into investing in such firms owned by members of the Legislative Yuan's Finance Committee,
Chen made the claim yesterday at a DPP news conference held on the widening scandal, alleging that officials from the finance ministry's Bureau of Monetary Affairs pressured both state and private banks to invest in legislator-controlled venture capital firms.
Chen said that high-ranking bank officers had personally informed him of the bureau officials' actions. He further called on the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau to look into officials' alleged illegal actions.
DPP legislator Chou Po-lun (周伯倫)said at the news conference, however, that the scandal is just another struggle between supporters of independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) and KMT candidate Lien Chan (連戰).
Forces from both sides are vying for the administration's resources so that they can sink their vote-getting machines into the local electorate (綁樁), Chou said.
Minister of Finance Paul Chiu (邱正雄) yesterday denied that any banks had been "pressured" by legislators to invest in venture capital firms under their control, but said it was "inevitable" for legislators and certain administrative agencies to meet with bank officials. Chiu added that he would "absolutely support" any bank that was found to have been coerced into making such investments.
KMT legislator Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), one of the legislators accused by a local newspaper of coercing banks to provide investment funds, yesterday made good on his promise to sue the paper. Lo submitted a charge of libel with the Taipei Prosecutors' Office (台北地檢署) against Yu Chi-chung (余紀忠), publisher of the China Times.
Lo claimed he had no stake in any venture capital firm, and is clueless about anything to do with investments. He also proposed that assets held by legislators also be turned over to financial trusts in a way similar to that proposed by the KMT for its the parties assets..
The Executive Yuan's Development Fund (開發基金), which is under scrutiny for investing in legislators' venture capital companies, confirmed that the fund received a request for a NT$150 million investment from the Columbus Venture Capital Company (哥倫布創投), alleged to have ties with legislators.
Fund managers said they not rule out investing in the company, drawing attention to the company's strong management team and access to Japanese high-technology.
Venture capital firms must presently be approved by the Ministry of Finance before they can begin operations. There are presently over 40 trusts operating in Taiwan, with more than 120 applications pending approval.
Investments by venture capital firms in traditional industries cannot exceed 30 percent, but high-tech firms can legally be 100 percent owned by venture capital companies.
An unnamed official at the Ministry of Finance said that such a strategy may, however, work against the government's policy of channelling funds to traditional industries, presently starved for cash under the shadow of Taiwan's dynamic high-tech firms.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2