The PFP legislators asked the Control Yuan yesterday to investigate whether President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) comments Wednesday on the Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal in any way interfered with the judicial investigation into the case
During the 2000 presidential election campaign, the KMT filed a lawsuit against PFP Chairman James Soong (
After the election, prosecutors said there wasn't enough evidence to try case and the KMT dropped the charges.
Last month, the KMT said that the allegations had "all been a result of misunderstanding."
While new evidence may come to light allowing the case to move forward, PFP legislators argued the case is closed in as much as current evidence is not yet part of an investigation and is merely being reviewed internally by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.
"Being the leader of the nation, Chen arbitrarily made remarks that interfered with the judicial investigation and appeared to be a veiled order for justice officials to look unfavorably on [Soong]," the legislators' request said, referring to Chen's statement on Wednesday that the Chung Hsing Bills Finance case remained open.
"Chen's statement appears to be an attempt to smear the nation's opposition leader. ? To safeguard the independence of the judicial system, [the Control Yuan] should investigate whether Chen's remarks were at all appropriate," the request said.
PFP legislative leader Chung Shao-ho (
Control Yuan member Li You-chi (李友吉) accepted the motion, but said the body would have to study constitutional articles before deciding whether to follow it up.
While the legislators cited Article 7 of the Additional Articles of the Constitution -- which states that "the impeachment by the Control Yuan of [a] functionary in the Central or local governments shall be instituted upon the proposal of two or more Members of [the] Control Yuan" -- Li said it is disputable whether the term "public functionary" encompasses the president and vice president.
The PFP legislators said they would file a request to the Council of Grand Justices for interpretation of the article.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai