A pan-blue dominated legislative committee yesterday passed a non-binding resolution ordering public agencies to immediately remove Web links to a government Web site detailing its campaign to retrieve the Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) stolen assets.
The committee also passed a motion condemning a Cabinet official in charge of the government campaign for failing to show up at the meeting.
The Organic Laws and Statutes Committee voted five to one in favor of a motion filed by six pan-blue committee members demanding that eight government agencies remove links from their Web pages to the site.
The eight government agencies are the Research, Development and Evaluation Commission, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Education, the Government Information Office, the Central Personnel Administration, the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, the Overseas Compatriot Affairs Commission and the Veterans Affairs Commission.
All other agencies established after passage of the resolution must also comply with the decision, said KMT Legislator Joanna Lei (
The resolution states that the agencies abuse national resources, violate separation of power between party and administration and tamper with administrative neutrality. It says that retrieving the KMT's party assets is not part of their operations, nor has any budget been earmarked for such a purpose.
The committee also approved a motion denouncing Hsu Chih- hsiung (許志雄) for violating the Constitution and showing his contempt for the legislature by failing to produce a legitimate reason for missing the meeting yesterday.
The committee resolved to send Hsu, a minister without portfolio who doubles as minister of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, to the Control Yuan for impeachment proceedings.
The Control Yuan, however, has been inactive for more than two years because the legislature has refused to confirm any of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Liu Chien-sin (
In addition to the Web site, the Ministry of Finance formed a task force to probe the issue after the Control Yuan in April 2001 requested government agencies to compile a report regarding KMT's stolen assets that fell under their jurisdiction.
The Control Yuan also asked the Executive Yuan to conduct a thorough investigation into the KMT's assets to see whether the party had been involved in any irregularities.
Claiming the issue had nothing to do with the business of the Mongolian and Tibetan Affairs Commission, Lai berated the commission for fawning on the administration by putting up the link but not having the guts to defend doing so.
People First Party Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for
RSS