Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus whip Alex Fai (費鴻泰) yesterday confirmed the existence of a “PK team” that had reportedly been set up at the order of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to have KMT lawmakers help the party’s campaign efforts for the nine-in-one elections.
Fai, who questioned National Audit Office Auditor-General, Lin Ching-long (林慶隆), on Thursday on the MG149 account controversy that involves independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and threatened to shelve the agency’s budget, said yesterday that the PK team is not aimed at Ko.
“PK” stands for “player killer” and is an online gaming term for players who hunt rivals’ virtual characters to kill them, rather than collaborate with others to solve missions or try to defeat non-player characters in a game.
The term colloquially refers to any one-on-one showdown. Some sources said the term could refer to “penalty kick,” a soccer term.
“The PK team is established by the party caucus whenever there are major events or decisions to be made, and the team collects relevant information and reports it to the public. The mechanism has been in operation for years,” Fai said.
He said he sent out requests to KMT legislators more than a month ago seeking those interested in joining it.
“It is not targeting MG149, which is a small case,” Fai said, adding that the team is also for investigating recent issues such as the tainted cooking oil scandal and the Greater Kaohsiung gas pipeline explosions.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾), who ignited the MG149 dispute early last month by accusing Ko of corruption via the shared MG149 bank account — a public account for National Taiwan University Hospital’s (NTUH) surgical intensive care unit — while serving as its head, said she was glad “that the party caucus has finally realized that MG149 is problematic.”
“At first, only I saw the problem, but now the fact is gradually unveiling itself. With the party caucus [involved], we can make Taipei residents understand that the MG149 account is truly flawed,” Lo said.
To Ko’s call for the KMT not to attack NTUH and national medical research for political purposes, Lo said, “You asked people not to attack it, but you are hurting the institution; do not drag NTUH into this.”
“I suggest that Ko does not hurt NTUH’s academic spirit through his illegal actions,” she added.
Lo said she would attend the legislature’s committee meeting next week, which requires NTUH superintendent Huang Guan-tarn (黃冠棠) to attend, to question him.
Additional reporting by Sean Lin
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
Shih Hsin University President Chen Ching-he (陳清河) yesterday issued a public apology for comments made in his commencement speech last week, stating that he has asked the school to suspend his duties and halt his wages for two months as a show of contrition. At the commencement ceremony on May 30, Chen said, “If you don’t manage your time well, or your own emotions, or your health, then I am telling every one of you — put a quick end to ‘you,’ because the world has no need for ‘you.’” The comments have sparked significant controversy online, and Chen through an open
RSS