The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused one of the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) caucus whips of attempting to interfere in an investigation into the Sunny Bank loan scandal that involves two DPP members.
DPP Legislator Hsueh Ling (薛凌) and her husband, Sunny Bank chairman Chen Shen-hung (陳勝宏), who is also a member of DPP's Central Standing Committee, were released on Wednesday on NT$10 million (US$300,000) bail each after questioning. The couple's home and Hsueh's legislative office were searched on Tuesday.
Prosecutors suspect that Hsueh's brother, Hsueh Tsung-hsien (
Prosecutors suspect Hsueh Ling, Chen and two other bank officials knew the contract was forged, and that they conspired with Hsueh Tsung-hsien to approve the loan.
KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
Hsu said Ker's action broke the law, which bars legislators from lobbying in ongoing judicial cases.
The KMT caucus made the charge after the Chinese-language Apple Daily said yesterday that Ker's office had sent the letter to Shih and top prosecutor Chen Tsung-ming (
Ker told reporters yesterday that he had send a letter to the Ministry of Justice, but he had only forwarded a plea from Hsueh Ling to the ministry. He said he had not added his personal opinion to her plea.
Ker said it was natural for a caucus whip to look out for a member of his caucus.
DPP caucus whip Wang Tuoh (
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
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
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai