A coalition of Taiwanese independence groups yesterday urged the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office to investigate President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) for corruption, alleging that he received NT$1 billion (US$32.7 million at current exchange rates) in illegal campaign donations from Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團) in 2012.
Wu Tsu-chia (吳子嘉), vice chairman of the my-formosa.com news Web site, on Oct. 15 published an article saying that Ma accepted NT$1 billion in political contributions from the conglomerate at the center of a cooking oil scandal during the 2012 presidential campaign.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Friday last week filed a libel suit against Wu.
“As citizens, we ask the prosecutors to investigate whether the NT$1 billion was bribery or a political contribution,” said Chen Yong-chang (陳永昌), an associate professor at National Taiwan University’s College of Management, who is also the Taiwanese National Party’s candidate for Taipei mayor.
Ma and the KMT are known to have a cozy relationship with Ting Hsin, Chen said.
He accused the government of dragging its feet in investigating the group and Ma of interfering in the judicial process to shield the conglomerate from potential prosecution.
Joining Chen at the prosecutors’ office were Taiwanese National Party Chairman Tsai Chin-lung (蔡金龍) and representatives from the 908 Taiwan Republic Campaign, Taiwan National Congress Movement, Taiwan Nation-Building Forum and other organizations.
“Ma has always portrayed himself as a ‘clean’ politician who disdains corruption,” Chen said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
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