Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) manipulation of the Yu Chang Biologics Co case has hurt Taiwan’s democratic development and added that the party’s collaboration with the media on the case during the presidential campaign was “vicious.”
The KMT government’s misconduct and the negative impact of the alleged case on Taiwan’s biotechnology industry were what really concerned her, Tsai said on the sidelines of a workshop on Taiwan’s economy organized by her foundation.
Tsai said her political team had thoroughly reviewed the Yu Chang case and were reassured that she had not been involved in illegal conduct, adding that “the important thing was not if I had been treated fairly, but that KMT manipulation damaged Taiwan’s democracy.”
Photo: Li Hsin-fang, Taipei Times
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division (SID) on Tuesday closed its investigation into Yu Chang Biologics Co, now known as TaiMed Biologics Inc, clearing Tsai of any wrongdoing in the case which many believe helped President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) beat Tsai in the January presidential election.
Tsai said the leader of the nation had failed to do his job when he did not help the biotechonology industry develop, but instead damaged the sector with his campaign maneuverings.
While the KMT claimed it had never called the case a scandal, Tsai said the Taiwanese people had experienced the incident first-hand and understood how the party had distorted media coverage during the campaign.
Former Council of Economic Planning and Development minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) was quoted by the Chinese-language China Times yesterday as saying that she had been asked by Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), then-premier, to launch an administrative investigation into Tsai’s conduct.
In response to the newspaper report, Tsai said it was the “most vicious practice” for the state apparatus to inappropriately use government documents — including forged documents — to discredit specific candidates.
DPP Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) told a press conference that the Yu Chang case was a “dirty trick” Ma had used for political gain.
In response to the KMT’s statement, which said that while Tsai had been cleared of all illegal activities, she could not evade her “moral stain,” Wu said that Ma had also been cleared of all charges in a corruption case.
“I would like to know if Ma also has a ‘moral stain’ even though he was found not guilty,” Wu said, referring to the Supreme Court’s April 2008 ruling that said Ma was not guilty of misusing his special mayoral allowance during his eight-year tenure as Taipei mayor.
The DPP headquarters also offered support to Tsai yesterday, with party Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) saying after the weekly Central Standing Committee meeting that the party planned to seek justice for DPP politicians who had been persecuted by the judicial system in the past.
A working group would be established under the DPP’s Policy Research Committee to gather and analyze information of all the legal cases and prosecutions involving DPP members, including Tsai and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), in an effort to “reverse the miscarriage of justice,” Su said.
Necessary measures will be taken after all the analytical work has been done, Su said, adding that the DPP does not rule out taking legal action against those responsible.
“The DPP urges Ma and those who were involved in the manipulation of the case to apologize to Taiwan’s biotechnology industry,” DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said.
It has been the KMT’s strategy and an example of the party’s “old tricks” to resort to the abuse of state apparatus, forgery and almost anything in order to secure election victory, Lin said.
The KMT’s defamation of Tsai and Yu Chang Biologics Co, along with its past attacks on Hsuehshan Tunnel, the High Speed Rail and the Southern Taiwan Science Park — all completed under the DPP administration — also showed the KMT could only attack the DPP when it could not deliver the same performance, Lin said.
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
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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