Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文), whose election victory was annulled on vote-buying charges, urged the KMT yesterday not to be ungrateful to his family after the KMT’s Yunlin chapter disqualified his father from a legislative by-election because of his alleged involvement in his son’s vote-buying.
He accused Yunlin prosecutors of conspiring to frame his father Chang Hui-yuan (張輝元), head of an irrigation association in Yunlin, as part of their investigation into the vote-buying allegations.
Chang Sho-wen showed a press conference at the legislature video footage of a conversation between a lawyer and a witness in his father’s case, in which the lawyer says they must “discuss with prosecutors what to say against Chang Hui-yuan.”
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
“[Prosecutors] fabricated witness statements and colluded [with witnesses] in Chang Hui-yuan’s case,” Chang Sho-wen said. “Mr Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said he hoped future politicians will have integrity, ideals, love for the people and principles. Doesn’t Chang Hui-yuan fit the profile?”
Chang Sho-wen was found guilty of election bribery at his first trial in Yunlin. Prosecutors alleged that his father solicited votes for his son by offering cash bribes to voters during last year’s legislative elections.
The Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court annulled Chang Sho-wen’s election victory on June 30 on the ground that he was aware of and had taken part in the vote-buying scheme allegedly organized by his father. The annulment was a civil suit.
Chang Hui-yuan, who is in his 70s, then registered in the KMT’s primary for the by-election.
The KMT’s Yunlin chapter ruled in a preliminary review on Sunday to disqualify Chang Hui-yuan as a result of the party’s “black gold exclusion clause,” which states that members who are found guilty of corruption in their first trial cannot to be nominated for any elections.
“We could have announced that we would run as an independent candidate, but we would rather not do that because we did not do anything wrong,” Chang Sho-wen said.
“We are faithful party members. I cannot be ungrateful to the KMT, but if the KMT chooses to be ungrateful to us, we will have no choice but to follow the voice of grassroots supporters,” he said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
The age requirement for commercial pilots and airline transport pilots is to be lowered by two years, to 18 and 21 years respectively, to expand the pool of pilots in accordance with international standards, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced today. The changes are part of amendments to articles 93, 119 and 121 of the Regulations Governing Licenses and Ratings for Airmen (航空人員檢定給證管理規則). The amendments take into account age requirements for aviation personnel certification in the Convention on International Civil Aviation and EU’s aviation safety regulations, as well as the practical needs of managing aviation personnel licensing, the ministry said. The ministry
RSS