The New Power Party (NPP) has suspended the membership of Legislator Kawlo Iyun Pacidal amid allegations of influence peddling and abuse of power, party spokesman Lee Chao-li (李兆立) said on Wednesday.
On Monday, the Green Party Taiwan alleged that Kawlo in January had received NT$4 million (US$128,279) in green energy subsidies from the Ministry of Economic Affairs through two groups established by a former assistant and run by a current aide, but did not appear to have put the funds to any use.
The Taiwan Association for Indigenous Peoples and the Taiwan Associations for Startups and Marketing Centers received the funds to establish “clean” energy facilities.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Article 14 of the Act on Recusal of Public Servants Due to Conflicts of Interest (公職人員利益衝突迴避法) bans public servants and people closely related to them from receiving subsidies from or engaging in monetary transactions with government agencies or organizations under their supervision, the Green Party said.
On Tuesday, the NPP said that Kawlo had breached provisions of the Legislators’ Conduct Act (立法委員行為法) regarding conflict of interest and on Wednesday the party’s disciplinary committee met to discuss the allegations.
Kawlo attended the meeting, but declined to respond to allegations of influence peddling, Lee said.
On Monday, she had denied abusing her influence to obtain the subsidies.
The committee recommended that Kawlo’s NPP membership be revoked for contravening its regulations and tarnishing its image, Lee said.
If the party revokes her membership, she would lose her legislator-at-large seat.
The NPP would turn the case over to the Legislative Yuan’s Discipline Committee, he said.
Questions have been raised about whether Article 14 would apply in this case, as the groups applied for the subsidies months before the provision requiring bidders to disclose their connection to public servants took effect in December last year.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their