With mudslinging among the presidential candidates intensifying, independent James Soong (
The first case came yesterday as Soong was accused of libel by the younger brother of a presidential aide, who claims that Soong defamed him by bringing up an old accusation he had already been cleared of legally.
Su Chih-jen
Su Chih-jen said yesterday that a 1996 court ruling had cleared him of any malfeasance. Former legislator Ju Kao-cheng (
Su is asking the court for NT$20 million from Soong, whom he alleged was trying to cover up his own scandals by diverting public attention.
"Soong has been avoiding giving straight answers to questions about his financial transactions. Now he simply wants to dodge the issue by trying to put the spotlight on people who are totally irrelevant. This is all a ploy aimed at the media," Su said.
Last December, KMT legislator Yang Chi-hsiung (
Tu Yu-ming (
He also claimed Soong was making the remarks on the basis of media reports, not out of personal malice.
Yen Jung-chang (
"It's up to the voters to clear Soong of these malicious accusations," he said.
Independent legislator Lin Ruey-tu
Lin's remarks did not directly implicate Soong in corruption, but they have become a point on which the other candidates have focused.
The Presidential Office, meanwhile, issued a rare, sternly worded statement condemning Soong
Soong's comments on procurement referred to a recently released Rand Corporation report which suggested that Taiwan's defense policy and procurement decision-making processes are poorly coordinated both within the top leadership and between the civilian and military elite.
The Presidential Office statement said Soong's remarks about the report were inappropriate and a serious insult to both the Presidential Office and all servicemen.
Noting that the government has consistently conducted very careful and prudent evaluations of all arms deals, the statement stressed that Taiwan has drawn up weaponry procurement plans based on defense needs and arsenal modernization projects.
"It is regrettable that Soong has deliberately disseminated the erroneous Rand Corporation report even after the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant government agencies had refuted it," the statement said, adding that Soong should assume legal responsibility for airing false allegations against the government.
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