The KMT yesterday came out in support of members accused of vote-buying in the recent election of the chairman for the Provincial Farmers' Association (
On Monday, several DPP law-makers alleged that KMT officials had attempted to use cash to influence the outcome of the election for the association's chairman, who wields hefty influence over local politics.
The allegation has irked the KMT, which is scrambling to alter its image as a corrupt political party -- an image some believe cost the party the presidential election last year.
"It's deplorable that the DPP should allow its lawmakers to abuse their speech immunity and fabricate charges against rival parties," KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
"The practice, if left unchecked, marks a tragedy for democracy."
At stake are five to 10 legislative seats of the Provincial Farms' Association and its 200-plus branch offices nationwide are poised to help secure in December, said DPP lawmaker Lin Chung-mo (林重謨).
According to Lin, leaders from these associations are well aware of how to make use of illegitimate funds, and have used such resources in campaigns before.
But KMT spokesman Wang Chih-kang (
Lin and several other DPP lawmakers alleged on Tuesday that the KMT had attempted to have Hsiao Teng-shih (蕭登獅),former chairman of the Chiayi City Farmers' Association, help persuade members of the provincial association to back KMT candidates for the positions of association chairman and executive general.
According to the legislators, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), Legislative Yuan speaker and KMT vice chairman, and Chao Shou-po (趙守博), director of the KMT's Organization and Development Committee, each visited Hsiao separately on April 15.
Hsiao, they said, was offered NT$40 million by both of them, but the offers were turned down.
The DPP legislators alleged that the KMT held a meeting to discuss the matter on April 23, when KMT Chairman Lien Chan (
On the same night, they alleged, Hsieh Kuo-ku (
The party spokesman urged the DPP leadership to discipline its "unruly" members, adding that his accused colleagues would consider taking the matter to the courts.
In reply, Lin, one of the four DPP lawmakers who brought the matter to public attention, said that he would welcome judicial intervention.
"The charge we made is based on solid ground," he held. "The investigators can then attest to our integrity."
Acting on tips, Lin and colleagues have accused the KMT of seeking to control the farmers' association by providing NT$150 million for eligible voters before the election on April 25. The bribe offer failed and the reformist camp claimed victory in the end.
To demonstrate its commitment to reform, the KMT published its nominees for legislative seats from Taipei County.
The roster consists of 12 people, most of whom are incumbent lawmakers. But Liu Ping-wei (劉炳偉), who has been plagued by financial problems, was not nominated.
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
INDO-PACIFIC REGION: Royal Navy ships exercise the right of freedom of navigation, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, the UK’s Tony Radakin told a summit Freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region is as important as it is in the English Channel, British Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Tony Radakin said at a summit in Singapore on Saturday. The remark came as the British Royal Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, is on an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region as head of an international carrier strike group. “Upholding the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and with it, the principles of the freedom of navigation, in this part of the world matters to us just as it matters in the
RSS