Hsieh stakes candidacy on corruption allegation

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei mayoral candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday vowed to withdraw from the year-end election if an allegation he leveled against his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) opponent was proven false.

On Thursday, Hsieh charged that, as a former premier, Hau Pei-tsun's home telephone bills are paid for by the government and that Hau Long-bin used the same line.

"If the accusation that KMT Taipei mayoral hopeful Hau Lung-bin's (郝龍斌) telephone bill has been paid with public money for more than 10 years is proven wrong, I will withdraw my candidacy," Hsieh said yesterday.

Hsieh, a former premier, said he was entitled to the same special treatment Hau's father Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) had enjoyed, but "chose not to have such special treatment."

At the legislature, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said that Hau Lung-bin would be punished if an investigation determined that he was taking advantage of privileges intended for his father, also a former premier.

"The privileges granted to former premiers are controversial and have already been suspended. Hau Lung-bin will definitely be punished if our investigation finds that he has been taking advantage of former premier Hau Pei-tsun's privileges" Su said.

Su made the remarks in response to questions from DPP Legislator Chen Ying (陳瑩).

Chen said Hau Lung-bin's phone number on his business card is the same number he provided for the Legislative Yuan contact list when he was still a lawmaker and for the Cabinet's contact list when he was Environmental Protection Administration minister.

Hau Lung-bin denied that he was defrauding the public.

"Ever since they did away with the tokens of appreciation for former premiers, I have been paying this phone bill," he said.

Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan