Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) yesterday said that the prosecutors' office would look into allegations of unpatriotic behavior against the prosecutor in charge of the "state affairs fund" case.
Shih made the remarks when asked to comment on the allegation by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Kuo-ching (林國慶) that Prosecutor Chang Hsi-huai (張熙懷) has a pro-China bias in his work.
"I didn't understand [the allegation], but I will ask the [Taiwan] High Court Prosecutors' Office to look into it to uncover the truth," Shih said. "We want to uncover the truth as it concerns the image of Chang and that of prosecutors as a whole."
"The prosecutors' office will clarify the allegation if it is wrong. If it is true, the prosecutors' office will do what it has to do," he said.
After accusing Chang of visiting China by taking leave for statutory reasons and abusing his position by reserving a special seat for a visiting Chinese academic at a hearing of the Taiwan Development Corp case, Lin yesterday called another press conference targeted at Chang.
Pointing to a speech by Chang which was posted on a Web site controlled by an official Chinese Internet service provider, Chang called China "our motherland."
Lin claimed the move has degraded Taiwan's sovereignty, adding the words "our motherland" had been replaced by the words "mainland China" after he had made the allegation against Chang.
"Chang's influence on China is beyond imagination. Otherwise, how could he make the change overnight?" Lin said.
In response, Chang said that "our motherland" was not the phrase he used, arguing that Lin's critique of him was not true.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost