The Legislative Yuan may open its investigation into allegations of improper lobbying that benefited Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) as soon as Friday, a member of the legislature’s Discipline Committee said yesterday.
However, Ker has not yet submitted documents related to the investigation, despite saying he would request the investigation himself, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said.
Lu said he expects Ker will keep his word, while also echoing Ker’s call for an open and transparent investigation that will allow the public to scrutinize any decision made by the DPP-dominated committee.
While the committee has the legal right to summon other people associated with the case, Lu said they were unlikely to question President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) or other top-ranking officials as the incident is seen as an internal affair of the legislature.
DPP Legislator Wu Yi-chen(吳宜臻), who is also on the committee, said the investigation would help clarify the circumstances surrounding the accusations of improper influence and “avoid defamation of lawmakers and accusations of abuse of power.”
Ker and Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng(王金平) were implicated in allegations of use of improper influence by the Special Investigation Division (SID), which on Sept. 6 said the two lawmakers and Ministry of Justice officials used their positions to quash an appeal in a case that had been ruled in Ker’s favor.
According to the SID, Wang asked then-minister of justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and Chen Shou-huang (陳守煌), head of the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office, to stop a prosecutor from appealing the case, in which Ker had been acquitted on charges of breach of trust.
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
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS