Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday acknowledged that his sister, Ma Yi-nan (馬以南), had met Chang An-le (張安樂), the former leader of the Bamboo Union gang, but denied receiving political donations from the gangster.
"I knew my sister solicited support at a campaign event for me, but I wasn't aware she had met Chang. I will ask her to be more careful next time," Ma said yesterday at his campaign headquarters.
A story in the latest issue of Next Magazine said that Ma Yi-nan met Chang during a campaign party in June held by Taiwanese businesspeople in Shenzhen, China. It reported that Chang had agreed to make donations for Ma Ying-jeou's campaign.
Chang, nicknamed the White Wolf, is wanted by Taiwanese authorities and is in hiding in China.
Ma spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said yesterday that Ma Yi-nan had been invited to attend the event, where, with Chang present, she sought to win support for Ma. Luo said, however, that the event in question was held in June rather than in April.
Luo said that at the time, Ma Ying-jeou had yet to be formally nominated by the KMT and that therefore no political donations were made.
Luo said the Ma camp had handled all political donations in accordance with the law.
The Ma camp also dismissed allegations by Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh's (謝長廷) camp that another sister of Ma Ying-jeou, Theresa Chao (馬冰如), was a principal at a school in Beijing and that the candidate's promise to recognize educational background from China would therefore benefit that school.
Luo said the International School of Beijing invited Chao to teach at the school in 1998 and that she has since become the principal of the school's Chinese department.
Also see: MOEA announces it will postpone joint venture with UAE
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS