Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) yesterday said that he would sue Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) over his accusation that people around President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) are corrupt.
On Monday, Ko said that although Tsai is not corrupt herself, “everyone around you [Tsai] is knee-deep in graft.”
Ko cited a judicial investigation into the alleged smuggling of duty-free cigarettes on a presidential flight involving National Security Bureau and Presidential Office officials, and China Airlines employees, as well as various financial scandals:
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In 2016, US financial regulators fined Mega International Commercial Bank for money laundering; Ching Fu Shipbuilding, after winning a Ministry of Defense contract in 2014, allegedly used bank loans to invest in business projects in China; XPEC Entertainment Inc was implicated in investment fraud in 2016; and construction of Terminal 3 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has repeatedly been delayed.
Ting said that he has registered a judicial complaint against Ko, as he has never been associated with any such corruption cases.
He also said that he would take legal action against the Ko-linked “Taiwan White Voice” Facebook page, which listed a “Ting Yun-kung case” among other alleged financial scandals.
“I have no idea about what the ‘Ting Yun-kung case’ is about,” Ting said. “It is despicable to accuse someone by putting their name among some major scandals to harm their reputation.”
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said that Ko has distorted the truth and misled the public about cases that took place during the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
Wang condemned Ko for turning a blind eye to his own financial impropriety in the Taipei City Government.
“Mayor Ko, you should examine your own record and have a good look at the city’s five major public construction scandals, including the Taipei Dome project with Farglory Group,” he said.
“To imitate Ko’s way of speaking, I would like to say that ‘the people around Ko are deeply corrupt,’ as they have met in secret with big conglomerates to make under-the-table deals on these projects,” Wang said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS