Independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday said that he would no longer respond to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei’s (羅淑蕾) baseless corruption allegations, inviting her to file a lawsuit if she still finds his finances questionable.
“I have nothing to hide, but there are thousands of pieces of information and [Lo’s attacks] are growing intolerable; I just cannot spend all my time answering your questions since you are asking about this and that everyday,” Ko said in response to reporters’ questions about Lo’s latest allegations.
The KMT legislator’s most recent claims relate to donations from private enterprises being deposited into a bank account shared by all members of National Taiwan University Hospital’s surgical intensive care unit (SICU).
“I’ve publicized everything — my personal bank account, my income, my campaign bank account and all the hospital’s bank accounts related to me,” Ko said.
“If you have questions about it, come to my office with a letter of authorization from [KMT Taipei mayoral candidate] Sean Lien (連勝文) and I would let you check everything. If you think something is questionable, then sue me in court. I do not want to be in this war of words with you,” he added.
In a press conference yesterday morning, Lo questioned the source of a NT$200,000 (US$6,600) monthly donation from private enterprises into the SICU’s shared account and accused Ko of having altered information in his bank statements.
When Ko publicized his bank information at a press conference last week, he said that when he was invited to speak at private companies or medical schools, he was paid tens of thousands — up to 1 million — in New Taiwan dollars.
Instead of asking the hosts to wire the money into his personal accounts, Ko said that he asked them to transfer the funds into the SICU’s shared account, so that they could be used to sponsor research projects for his team members.
In other developments, Ko announced yesterday that he would republish his book, Power of the White (白色的力量), after editing out parts that have been criticized as discriminatory to women.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it