Controversial former legislator Chu Kao-cheng's (
Chu spent last month in jail for falsely accusing a fellow candidate of corruption in the 1989 legislative elections. He was released yesterday.
Talking about the recent investigations into the murder of former navy Captain Ying Chin-feng (尹清楓), Chu said that getting to the bottom of the mystery would be next to impossible and that coming to a complete understanding of the nature of alleged military procurement scandals would be similarly difficult.
Chu said that it was he who first challenged the multi-billion-dollar military procurement projects in 1993 and said that current investigations would go nowhere because those responsible go all the way up the political ladder -- to the Presidential Office.
Chu says that Su Chih-cheng (
Chu again pointed to Su Chih-cheng yesterday when talking about the investigation into Ying's murder and the scandals that have subsequently been linked with it.
Chu said that former president Lee was actually the man behind Su and suggested that this was because Su could not handle the enormous amount of money that was involved.
"It's just like when the police chief is corrupt, his subordinate police officers must also be corrupt. But if the chief isn't concerned with money, none of his subordinates would dare act unlawfully," Chu said, apparently referring to the relationship between the former president and Su.
Chu, known for his outspokenness, was one of founders of the DPP in 1987 but later left the party because he could not agree with the DPP's pro-independence ideology. He then formed the Social Democrat Party and later integrated it with the New Party.
Not long after he was defeated in the election for provincial governor in 1994, Chu left the New Party. Although Chu has finished serving his time for defamation, there are many lawsuits still pending against him.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source