Former Taipei EasyCard Corp chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) yesterday filed a defamation lawsuit against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鐘小平) over accusations concerning Lien’s problematic investments when serving as the company’s chairman.
Chung, who is seeking the KMT’s nomination for the Taipei mayoral election, made the accusations during a political talk show on Thursday night, saying that the company had suffered a financial loss of more than NT$270 million (US$ 8.9 million) during Lien’s term because of Lien’s reinvestment of company money in foreign funds in 2008.
Lien yesterday rejected the accusations in a written statement and filed the lawsuit in the afternoon against Chung, asking for NT$5 million in compensation and demanding that the councilor issue apology statements in seven major local newspapers.
“It’s a painful decision to file a lawsuit against a party member,” Lien said, adding that Chung had obtained related documents from the company last year on the reinvestments, which showed that the company did not purchase any foreign funds during his term.
Lien, son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), is seen as the most competitive Taipei mayoral hopeful in the pan-blue camp. Accusations regarding his financial situation and past experiences have begun to emerge recently. He has not announced his election bid.
Chung yesterday said that he was “stating the truth” during the political talk show and that his comments were made with the support of credible documents.
“I have announced that I will run in the Taipei mayoral election, and Sean Lien could be unhappy about my move,” he said.
If Lien aimed to represent the KMT in the Taipei mayoral election, he should be forming a campaign team, not a team of lawyers, he added.
Chung is one of the KMT politicians who have join the mayoral race along with legislators Alex Tsai (蔡正元) and Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and Taipei City councilors Yang Shi-chiu (楊實秋) and Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠).
Although the young Lien remained tight-lipped about his decision on the race, support for him has been high. Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌), who has maintained close relations with the Lien family, also appeared to be supportive of Sean Lien’s election bid, although he has denied having any successor in mind.
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
Public health officials are aiming to prevent mold-induced carcinogens in peanuts to protect consumers, new regulations proposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed. Taiwan’s hot and humid climate results in heightened risks of mold growth, which could create aflatoxin in peanuts, the FDA said. Aflatoxins are an International Agency for Research on Cancer group 1 carcinogen with no tolerable daily intake and cannot be removed through remedial food processing, it said. In response, guidelines have been proposed to regulate the production of peanut products to ensure higher food safety standards, the agency said, adding that the public comment period would be
RSS