The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lashed out at Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) again yesterday for alleged ties to "black gold" politics.
At a press conference yesterday, the DPP unveiled its 10 directives for the nation as part of a campaign drive for the legislative elections, but Wang-bashing was another highlight of the event.
The DPP pointed out in campaign literature that Wang had been shielding lawmakers with criminal records or ties to "black gold" politics from prosecution, and helped lawmakers -- such as fugitive Wu Tzer-yuan (伍澤元) and former lawmaker Lo Fu-chu (羅福助) -- skip the country.
Wu was sentenced for corruption three years ago, Lo was found guilty of being involved in organized crime.
"Under the leadership of Legislative Speaker Wang, the protection the Constitution bestows on lawmakers has become protection for the `black gold politics,'" DPP literature said.
Deputy director of the DPP's Policy Research and Coordinating Committee Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said that Wang's close ties to Wu are demonstrated by the fact that Wang attended a legislative campaign of Wu Chin-lin (吳錦霖), Wu's younger brother.
Wu Chin-lin is running for a seat in the legislature under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in Pingtung County.
DPP Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said the inefficiency of the legislature in passing bills could be blamed on the nature of the legislature.
"Who should be held responsible for the legislature's loss of integrity and inefficiency?" Chang said.
DPP Information and Culture Department Director Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), also levied accusations against the former legislative speaker and his associates, suggesting that "black gold" politics took place. Cheng also insinuated that Wang was a part of this culture of corruption.
Much of what Chang said about could not be confirmed. The timing of his words signals a mudslinging offensive by the DPP against the opposition camp in the run-up to next month's elections.
Based on a list of criminal verdicts which can be found on the Judicial Yuan's Web site, there is no mention of Wang inappropriately using financial resources during the 1999 speakership race.
"There was also one time when People First Party Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) attended a campaign rally with Wang, and Soong told the audience that while vying for the speakership, Wang would not need to spend any money.' This further shows that there is money involved in the race for the speakership," Cheng said. According to the documents provided by the Legislative Yuan, when a legislator who has been banned from leaving the country wants to make a request to the court or the Ministry of Finance for permission to temporarily leave the country, that legislator has to contact the Legislative Yuan's secretariat for help with necessary administrative procedures.
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
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
RSS