President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday pledged to investigate all corruption scandals across party lines, but added that he would use his authority carefully and refrain from interfering with the judicial system.
Recent detentions of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and former government officials served as a warning for his administration and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and the government will insist on integrity and prevent corruption, Ma said.
“I do not take pleasure in the detention of former government officials ... We are the ruling party and thus we need to use our authority more carefully, investigating all corruption scandals across party lines no matter who is involved in the cases,” Ma said yesterday at the KMT’s 17th national congress at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.
PHOTO: CNA
Dismissing challenges from some party members over what has been called his lack of determination to investigate corruption cases involving Chen, Ma said that he had done “everything a president can do” to combat corruption by members of the former Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) government, but stressed that he would not abuse his power and that his administration would build a society based on law.
Ma also defended his determination to protect Taiwanese sovereignty while making efforts to improve cross-strait relations.
He vowed to continue promoting his “diplomatic truce” policy while maintaining the country’s defensive forces by purchasing arms from the US.
Ma said that his administration would continue to focus on seeking meaningful participation in activities by the UN’s specialized agencies.
Instead of bidding for full membership in the global body as Taiwan had in the past, the Ma administration sought “meaningful participation” in activities under UN specialized agencies at the WHA held in May.
Speaking about clashes between the police and protesters during the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin (陳雲林) earlier this month, Ma again voiced his support for an amendment to the Assembly and Parade Law (集會遊行法), but said it was important to strike a balance between protecting the public’s right to gather and maintaining public order.
Ma once again called on the public to have faith in the government’s ability to lead the country out of the current economic slowdown, urging all political parties to set aside ideological differences and tackle the crisis.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard