The Control Yuan said it has opened an investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the government’s investment in biotechnology company Yu Chang Biologics Co, now known as TaiMed Biologics Inc, in 2007, a case that was played up during the run-up to last month’s presidential election.
Control Yuan member Yeh Yao-peng (葉耀鵬) said on Tuesday that he has begun reviewing documents, but would not decide whether to question the person involved in the case -until after studying all available information.
The “person” Yeh was referring to is supposedly Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who came under fire by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for her role in the TaiMed case as she ran in the presidential election against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
During the presidential campaign late last year, then-KMT legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) filed a complaint against Tsai with the Control Yuan, the government body responsible for investigating the behavior of public officials and public agencies.
Chiu accused Tsai, who was vice premier in early 2007 when the Yu Chang investment was being considered, of illicit behavior by directing the National Development Fund to invest in the biotech company without following legal procedures.
Chiu said that Tsai had improperly circumvented the National Development Fund’s management committee when she authorized the injection of funds into the Yu Chang project by endorsing a classified proposal written by then--minister without portfolio Ho Mei-yueh (何美玥).
On Sept. 5, 2007, Yu Chang Biologics completed its company registration with paid-in capital of NT$660 million (US$22.24 million), and one week later, Tsai, who had stepped down as vice premier four months earlier, became the company’s first chairperson.
During her tenure, Tsai had a family-run enterprise invest in the company to bridge funding shortfalls and then sold the shares when she resigned, less than a year after taking the job, to become DPP chairperson.
The KMT accused Tsai of earning a profit of at least NT$10 million on the stock sale, saying those profits constituted an illicit gain, while she had also engaged in a conflict of interest after pushing through the project as a government official.
Tsai denied any wrongdoing in the case during her campaign and accused the KMT of smear tactics to boost Ma’s election chances.
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