President Chen Shui-bian (
Wang told the press that he was asked to see the president on Thursday night, amid recent corruption allegations over Chen's use of the "state affairs fund."
Wang said that the corruption allegations made against Chen and the alleged irregularities found in Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
"We didn't talk about the problems that happened in the past. We talked about how to establish rules and regulations for the future," Wang said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Ma's case was a good example, Su said.
"It shows that nobody is perfect. Everybody will have his time to be examined and there is no exception," Su said. "I think it is a good thing. It shows that everybody will be treated fairly in terms of justice."
When asked to comment regarding Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) statement on Thursday that every government official's special allowance fund should be examined for misuse, Su said he seconded the idea.
"Now that this issue has become a focus for the public, it will be a good thing and a good chance for everybody to examine the mechanism and fix the leaks," he said.
Meanwhile, DPP legislators Kao Chien-chih (
The proposal was seen as a move to counter the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) motion passed in a meeting of the legislature's Organic Laws and Statutes committee, which demanded that central government officials who have received special allowance funds since January 2004 submit spending reports within two weeks.
The KMT's proposal was targeted mainly at DPP officials, while the lawsuit to be filed by DPP would investigate many KMT heavyweights, including Wang and former KMT chairman Lien Chan (
In related news, Chen said yesterday that he was willing to dedicate himself to establishing a comprehensive system for regulating the fxfice of president during the remainder of his term in office, which ends in May 2008.
Saying that he inherited a legacy that was more complex and intertwined than "anyone could have imagined" when he assumed his presidency in 2000, Chen said that in a democracy, all outdated presidential systems and practices should be reviewed.
Chen made his remarks in a speech delivered at a conference on transitional justice held by the Taiwan Historical Association.
Chen said that during the rule of dictator Chiang Kai-shek (
As an example, Chen said that after Chiang Ching-kuo passed away in 1988, his wife Faina Chiang (
Chiang Ching-kuo's daughter-in-law, Chiang Hsu Nai-chin (
"We've taken this for granted, but when the residence of an incumbent president is used in a similar way, others call it corruption," Chen said, referring to his residence on Minsheng E Rd in Taipei, which was left for his daughter after her marriage in 2001.
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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