Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference yesterday that he had spoken with Chang Wei-chin (張瑋津), the estranged wife of former ICRT DJ Charles Mack — better known by his nickname “Chocolate” — and Prosecutor Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠) about an alleged DVD recording of Chang’s husband and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) having intimate relations before last year’s presidential election.
Ker said news of the alleged DVD first came to light before last year’s presidential election, but only Ma and Chang could prove its existence.
He said the prosecutor, Ma and Chang should explain the matter to the public.
When he talked to Chang and Wu Wen-chung about the allegations, Ker said Wu Wen-chung told him that “actually, there are prosecutors of the same inclination.”
Wu told him he had seen the DVD and that it was real, the legislator said.
Ker said Chang did not go public with the alleged recording, preventing former DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) from taking advantage of it during the campaign.
Ker said, however, that he hoped Ma, Chang and Wu would tell the truth about the matter.
Ker’s comments came a day after former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) alleged in court that Wu Wen-chung had prevented a scandal involving the alleged DVD.
Mack, who is a US citizen, was repatriated on Feb. 6, 2004, after law enforcement officers accused him of having intimate relations after being diagnosed with syphilis without telling his partners.
Mack was married to Chang, who said she was a friend of the former president and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍).
Chen said Chang had a DVD of Mack and Ma having intimate relations and intended to use the DVD to ruin Ma’s presidential prospects last year.
Wu Wen-chung used his position as a prosecutor to stop her, Chen said.
Asked about the allegation by TV reporters yesterday, Chang said: “Go and ask Ma Ying-jeou, or ask [former Taipei deputy mayor] King Pu-tsung (金溥聰).”
She said that Mack was still her husband as she has yet to file divorce papers.
Meanwhile, several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday criticized the former president.
KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) accused Chen of fabricating the allegations, saying that the former president was jealous because “Ma is more popular and handsome” than Chen.
KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (陳杰) told reporters that Chen Shui-bian did not have the courage to shoulder responsibility for his own behavior.
Chen Chieh also expressed support for the Taipei Detention House’s decision to limit the former president’s exercise time and the number of visitors allowed to see him if he went on hunger strike again.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a