The Presidential Office yesterday dismissed an allegation made by an opposition legislator that President Chen Shui-bian (
"The allegation is false because the president has never offered any names to Prosecutor Eric Chen (
David Lee said President Chen only provided receipts to Eric Chen. Since prosecutors are still investigating the case, Lee said that they had no further comment on the matter.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Ching-hua (李慶華) told the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes Committee yesterday morning that a reliable source told him that the president had wired NT$20 million (US$625,000) to China-based businessman Kung Chin-yuan (龔金源).
The legislator claimed that the money came from President Chen's special allowance fund and was actually used to invest in real estate in China.
Lee Ching-hua said President Chen had showed a receipt for the amount to Eric Chen and that he would be happy to meet with Eric Chen to discuss the matter.
Lee Ching-Hua said he had double-checked his sources and was willing to put his political career on the line.
"If what I say is wrong, I'll resign as a legislator," he said. "But if President Chen continues to lie about the fund, he should resign as the president."
President Chen has claimed that part of the fund was used to pay secret agents or informants involved in a diplomatic mission code named "The South Route Project" (
Lee Ching-hua yesterday criticized President Chen for lying about the use of the fund and said he suspected that President Chen had a close relationship with Kung and had used him to embezzle money from the fund.
Lee Ching-hua said Kung was appointed by President Chen when he was Taipei mayor as the city's representative in its sister city, Dallas.
After Chen was elected president in 2000, Kung was assigned by the Ministry of Finance as a representative of state shareholders at Taiwan Business Bank in July 2000, Lee Ching-hua claimed, adding that after Kung's mother passed away, President Chen had attended her funeral in June 2004.
In December last year, Kung was appointed by the ministry as a representative of public shareholders at First Financial Holding Company, Lee Ching-hua said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
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An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
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