The Control Yuan yesterday denied that it was investigating whether the Kaohsiung City Government had funded the city and county chiefs’ invitation of the Dalai Lama to southern Taiwan last year.
“We received a complaint [last year] asking whether local governments misused budgets earmarked for inviting foreign nationals to Taiwan,” Control Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Hsu Hai-chuan (許海泉) told reporters.
However, the Control Yuan referred the complaint to the Ministry of the Interior for an initial investigation because there was no evidence of malfeasance by government agencies or officials, Hsu said, adding that this was standard procedure at the Control Yuan when dealing with public complaints.
“The Control Yuan is not specifically probing the Dalai Lama’s visit,” he said.
ALLEGATIONS
Hsu was responding to allegations by Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑), former adviser to the Kaohsiung City Government, that he made while addressing a rally in Taipei on Sunday to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising.
Liang said the Control Yuan, the Investigation Bureau and the Kaohsiung Prosecutors’ Office had initiated their own investigations into whether the city government spent public funds to invite the Tibetan spiritual leader.
Seven Democratic Progressive Party city and county chiefs issued a joint invitation to the Dalai Lama in August asking him to visit Taiwan to hold religious services for the victims of Typhoon Morakot.
The ministry confirmed on Sept. 20 that it, as the government authority in charge of religious affairs, received a request from the Control Yuan to determine whether government funds were spent to cover the Dalai Lama’s expenses.
POLITICAL
The probe sparked criticism from the pan-green camp, alleging that the move was politically motivated.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) said last year that no money from city government coffers was used to sponsor the visit.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS