A group of lawmakers have thrown their support behind Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for a presidential bid in 2008, saying that Ma should run as an independent if he is indicted for his handling of the special allowance fund, which would result in suspension from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
"Ma should register as an independent presidential candidate representing the pan-blue camp if he is indicted," KMT Legislator Chu Fong-chi (
KMT Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (
"If Ma ever thinks of giving up the bid [if indicted], they will do everything possible to indict him," Lai said.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng(
Lawmakers' support for Ma's election bid proved that they believed in his innocence in the midst of the investigation into his special mayoral allowance, KMT legislative caucus whip Tsai Chin-lung (
Ma said yesterday that he had done nothing wrong as far as the handling of his special allowance was concerned, and he expected the judiciary to remain impartial in the investigation of the case.
Ma also denied that he had said he would resign as Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman but not withdraw from politics if he were indicted.
As to whether he may be indicted before Dec. 9, when the Taipei and Kaohsiung mayoral elections are held, Ma said he could not make any predictions.
KMT legislators have accused the government of interfering in the investigation by requiring Taiwan High Court Prosecutor-General Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) to decide whether to indict Ma before the election.
Ma did not comment on whether he would still run for the presidency in 2008 even if he lost his KMT membership, nor did he respond to questions about whether he would give up his KMT chairmanship as former Democratic Progressive Party legislator Ju Gau-jeng (
Ju yesterday published an open letter in several Chinese-language newspapers urging Ma to quit the chairmanship to pressure President Chen Shui-bian (
Ju said in the letter that Ma was not qualified as a political leader because he failed to "make the right decisions at critical moments," referring to the KMT's support of the three failed presidential recall motions.
Ju said that Ma should apply high moral standards to himself and resign as KMT chairman over the special allowance case to demonstrate his willingness to admit his own mistakes.
"Only when you resolutely resign the chairmanship can there be a new driving force for urging Chen to step down and a new chapter in the development of Taiwan's democracy," Ju said in the letter.
Independent Legislator Li Ao (
Meanwhile, Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office Spokesman Chang Wen-cheng (張文政) yesterday denied that the government had interfered with Taiwan High Court Prosecutor-General Hsieh Wen-ting (謝文定) or the Black Gold Investigation Center during the probe into Ma's special allowance fund.
The allegation that the government had demanded Ma's indictment before the Dec. 9 elections was groundless, he added.
He said there was no timetable for Ma's case, and that prosecutors close their investigations only when they have scrutinized all evidence relating to the case.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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