The Control Yuan on Tuesday impeached Lieutenant General Hu Chen-pu (胡鎮埔), a former Veterans Affairs Commission minister, for misappropriating funds earmarked for employee bonuses when he was director-general of the Ministry of National Defense’s Political Warfare Bureau.
Hu was the highest-ranking military officer to be impeached by the government watchdog in recent years.
The motion, initiated by Control Yuan members Liu Hsing-shan (劉興善) and Chou Yang-shan (周陽山), was passed by a vote of 9-to-3 in a confidential review meeting.
Hu was accused of implementing rules that contravened the Accounting Act (會計法) for a program to award bonuses to subordinates from a fund worth about NT$11 million (US$361,000) from Feb. 1, 2005, to Feb. 16, 2006.
The Control Yuan investigation showed that Hu also apparently collected NT$40,000 per month in the name of award recipients, for a total of NT$320,000.
During questioning, Hu told Control Yuan members that the money had been used to provide meals for the bureau and not for his personal use, but the Control Yuan ruled the practice constituted “malfeasance and irregularity.”
An investigation by the National Audit Office conducted prior to that by the Control Yuan found that Hu used the fund as a special allowance to buy off subordinates. It also said that most documents pertaining to how the money was used had been destroyed.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS