Premier Su Tseng-chang (
Su said the money was a "regular political donation" given to him when he was running for Taipei County commissioner in 1997.
"It is obvious that I was not in the Legislative Yuan after being elected Taipei County commissioner, nor was I involved in the review of any bills," Su told reporters while he was on his way to the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) Central Executive Committee meeting yesterday afternoon.
The latest issue of the Chinese-language Next Magazine has a story accusing Su and six former or current legislators of accepting bribes from the National Chinese Herbal Apothecary Association to help apothecaries regain their license to fill prescriptions that was lost because of a 1993 amendment.
The report said the association had given NT$40 million (US$1.2 million) to the seven politicians in 1997 and regained the right to fill prescriptions the next year.
The story quoted former association president Hsu Ching-sung (徐慶松) as saying that he had given Su NT$100,000.
However, Hsu said the money was a political donation for Su's Taipei County commissioner bid.
"As the year 2008 approaches, there will be more allegations of this kind. Any allegation is possible," Su said.
He did not comment on who could be behind the allegation or specify his relationship with Hsu.
The DPP threw its support behind Su yesterday.
DPP Chairman Yu Shyi-kun said the allegation was part of the nation's democracy because politicians should be strictly examined before running for elections.
"I have been friends with Su for a long time. I know him. He is a man with integrity, but I also respect the [judicial] system," Yu said. "[I] hope the judiciary will clear his name."
DPP caucus whip Yeh Yi-chin (葉宜津) said she believed in the premier and urged those who made the allegation to present evidence of their claims.
DPP Legislator Jao Yung-ching (
He said he was asked to assist prosecutors in their investigation into the case, but was not a target.
He also said that the prosecutors had believed in his innocence.
Jao said he had "never taken any illegal funds" since he stepped into the political scene and was willing to be examined.
Next Magazine said the association had offered Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Liu Shen-liang (
KMT Legislator Hsu Shu-po (
"My wife received the money from a friend whom I had known in the army. He is a member of the association, so I didn't see anything wrong with taking his political contribution," Hsu said.
"My stance on the legislation had nothing to do with that," he added.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday briefed her party’s Central Standing Committee regarding her scheduled visit to the US between Monday next week and June 16, saying that her purpose would be to persuade the US that the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution was a “one China” constitution that would foster stable and peaceful cross-strait relations. The ROC Constitution is the most important defense for all Taiwanese citizens, as it upholds our democracy and has contributed to our robust economy, which aligns with international and US interests, she said. “We would not be troublemakers and drag the US under,”
RSS