The DPP yesterday reprimanded two of its lawmakers-at-large for being involved in vote-buying allegations which has tarnished the party's image.
The two lawmakers-at-large are Chen Sheng-hung (陳勝宏) and the party's old guard Chang Chun-hung (張俊宏), a former DPP secretary-general. Both were accused by Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), the majority shareholder of the Zanadau Development Corp of accepting bribes from her during the party's primaries for nominating legislators at large last year.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen made the statement at the party's Central Standing Committee meeting. He urged all party members to display exemplary conduct to protect the party's image and suggested that the party amend its nomination procedures for legislators-at-large to decrease the chances that its candidates would be susceptible to bribes.
The committee yesterday held disciplinary discussions on Chen Sheng-hung and Chang based on an internal investigation undertaken by five lawyers which specified that the two had different degrees of involvement in the bribery scam.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Chin-yung (
"There is no evidence showing Chang might have been aware of the vote-buying scam or have participated in it, while the investigators deemed that Chen Sheng-hung was actually aware of the plot," Lee said.
Chang told reporters yesterday that he found the party's condemnation unacceptable and reproached the party for failing to exercise good judgment.
"I'll reserve my right to seek an appeal," Chang said.
Chen Sheng-hung yesterday issued a press release denying the vote-buying charges, and claimed that he would commit suicide if he were guilty.
Meanwhile, the DPP yesterday remained tightlipped about the nomination for a candidate to run for the by-election of the Hualien County commissioner while the pan-blue alliance announced Hsieh Shen-shan (謝深山), a former KMT secretary-general, will join the race.
Lee Chin-yung said yesterday that "since the registration date for the by-election starts tomorrow, the party is expected to announce its nominee by then."
Amid the pan-blue camp's announcement to designate Hsieh as the candidate, Lee said, "We hope that the KMT and PFP can reinforce their integration and avoid any internal clashes, which would otherwise obscure the focus of the election."
"We expect that it will be a gentleman's competition between the blue camp and the DPP through the debate on public policies in order to win recognition from the residents of Hualien," Lee said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS