The legal system will determine whether a controversial Chinese-language weekly newspaper is illegally undermining the campaign of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) said yesterday.
"The Executive Yuan is in favor of handling the matter in accordance with the law, but respects the prosecutor's decision and action in the legal proceedings," Chang said on the legislative floor.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) had asked the government to confiscate copies of Taiwan Weekly, which has published a series of unsubstantiated accusations against leading KMT figures and their family members, and probe the newspaper's publisher.
PHOTO: CNA
Wu accused the publishers of violating Article 104 of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), which states that people who spread inaccurate information to undermine candidates may be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison, Wu said.
Copy in the latest edition of the publication states that more than 150,000 free copies have been distributed since it was launched on Feb. 29.
In its first issue, the weekly claimed that KMT vice presidential candidate Vincent Siew (
Both Siew and Chow have denied the charges and taken legal action.
Minister of Justice Morley Shih (施茂林) said yesterday he would refer the case to the state public prosecutor-general.
Nevertheless, KMT Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) criticized the Government Information Office (GIO) for failing to record and verify the identity and address of Taiwan Weekly's publisher.
In response, a GIO official who wished to remain anonymous said that, since the Publication Act (出版法) was abolished in 1999, people are free to issue a publication without registering with the office.
The KMT caucus also accused Central News Agency (CNA), the state-sponsored news agency, of being involved in the production of Taiwan Weekly because the publication carried photos provided by CNA.
Later yesterday, CNA issued a statement saying that the photos, 13 in total, were purchased by a group named "Tai-wen Magazine Club" for NT$15,120.
Meanwhile, in a statement issued late on Wednesday night, Ma accused his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) rival, Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), of planning to attack his late father.
"My rival's campaign team has attacked my wife and my daughters recently, and I've heard that my late father will be the next target of their smear campaign," Ma said in the statement.
"As a son, I am asking my rival to allow my late father to rest in peace. I urge Hsieh's campaign team to focus on public policies because these issues are what the public care about," it said,
Ma said in the statement that his late father was not a perfect person, but his past should be buried with his ashes, rather than being dug up, distorted and exaggerated by his rival or the media.
Ma's father Ma Ho-ling (
Ma spokesman Luo Chih-chiang (
Hsieh spokesman Chao Tien-lin (
"How does Ma Ying-jeou know what the newspaper is going to publish? Are he or his aides present at editorial meetings with the newspaper's staff?" Chao asked.
At a separate setting yesterday, Hsieh said he was occupied with criticizing his rival's "one China" market proposal and saw no need to change the focus of his attack.
"It is [my] opponent who wishes to change the subject, so it is obvious who is benefitting from the Taiwan Weekly controversy," Hsieh said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS