President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) is facing accusations that he has squandered state funds for personal use, including purchasing concert and movie tickets.
A report by the Chinese-language online news platform SETN.com late on Thursday said Ma has used more than 99 percent of the state affairs fund earmarked for his discretionary use over the past eight years, and that the money was not always spent properly.
For example, the report said Ma used NT$39.958 million (US$1.22 million at current exchange rates) of the NT$40 million state affairs funds allocated in 2012, while there were only about NT$20,000 and NT$30,000 left in the funds in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Even in the last year of his presidential term, Ma has spent more than half of the NT$30 million allocated for the year in the first six months, the report said.
In addition to using the money to pay for a birthday party banquet for former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) in 2008, the article also said that the president has used the funds to purchase concert and movie tickets, as well as to treat KMT lawmakers to a meal during each legislative session.
Regulations stipulate that the state affairs fund is to be used by a president for certain purposes, including overseas or local inspection tours, rewards and gifts for guests.
Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) denied the report in a news release issued later yesterday, saying that Ma has only used the fund for “charitable purposes,” such as inviting his guests to attend cultural events, and has never spent them on recreational activities for himself.
“For instance, in an effort to promote the nation’s cultural activities, Ma invited the spouses of Cabinet members to enjoy a performance by Taiwanese Zen drumming troupe U-Theatre (優人神鼓) in September 2008,” Chen said.
Chen said the president also invited children from disadvantaged families and participants in the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics to a Cirque du Soleil show in January 2009, among others.
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
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
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
RSS