Lawmakers across party lines fell over themselves yesterday to comment on the departure of the president's son, Chen Chih-chung (陳致中), for the US on Friday -- continuing a recent trend to hold the private activities of the first family accountable to the legislature.
Noting the deterioration in the health of Chen's mother, first lady Wu Shu-jen (
Wu was in court on Friday morning for the "state affairs fund" case. She faces prosecution along with three presidential aides.
Chen's departure for the US might prove that KMT Legislator Chiu Yi's (邱毅) previous charges against him were correct, said Chou, referring to Chiu's earlier accusation that he was in the process of applying for US residence.
Chou said he suspected Chen went to the US to take care of follow-up procedures for his immigration application or to finalize an alleged real estate investment.
Chiu yesterday claimed Chen went to the US to dodge prosecutors' possible interrogation of him over alleged perjury in the "state affairs fund" case.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (
Chen's wife Huang Jui-ching (
"Just like [Taichung Mayor Jason Hu's (
"We didn't have to come back so early because [there was still time] before I was due to have the baby, but the media made us come back in a hurry, so now he has to go back to take care of some things," Huang said.
The couple returned to Taiwan before the mayoral election on Dec. 9 amid wrangling between the pan-blue and pan-green camps on whether Huang would give birth to the president's grandchild in the US and make the president break his promise of not becoming a "grandfather of an American."
The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Wanda-Zhonghe Line is 81.7 percent complete, with public opening targeted for the end of 2027, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said today. Surrounding roads are to be open to the public by the end of next year, Hou said during an inspection of construction progress. The 9.5km line, featuring nine underground stations and one depot, is expected to connect Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall Station to Chukuang Station in New Taipei City’s Jhonghe District (中和). All 18 tunnels for the line are complete, while the main structures of the stations and depot are mostly finished, he
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that private-sector refiners are willing to stop buying Russian naphtha should the EU ask them to, after a group of non-governmental organizations, including the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), criticized the nation’s continued business with the country. While Taiwan joined the US and its Western allies in putting broad sanctions on Russia after it invaded Ukraine in 2022, it did not explicitly ban imports of naphtha, a major hard-currency earner for Russia. While state-owned firms stopped importing Russian oil in 2023, there is no restriction on private companies to
President William Lai (賴清德) is expected to announce a new advanced “all-domain” air defense system to better defend against China when he gives his keynote national day speech today, four sources familiar with the matter said. Taiwan is ramping up defense spending and modernizing its armed forces, but faces a China that has a far larger military and is adding its own advanced new weapons such as stealth fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a huge array of missiles. Lai is expected to announce the air defense system dubbed “Taiwan Dome” in his speech this morning, one of the sources said. The system
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