It is unfortunate that the mayoral campaign in the biggest and arguably the most important city in the nation has become a mudslinging match, with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) — which has held the mayoral office for the past 16 years — repeatedly making accusations over the same issue for nearly two weeks against the major challenger despite clear explanations having been given.
It is no wonder that independent Taipei mayoral candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) is upset with the latest allegation of corruption that KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) made against him, because the charge was not based on new information, but on something that Ko had already addressed several times since last week.
Lo first said that, as head of National Taiwan University Hospital’s surgical intensive care unit, Ko was involved in corruption, tax evasion and money laundering using two hospital bank accounts and a private account shared with other members of the unit.
The allegation prompted Ko to make available details of the three accounts, as well as details from a personal account, inviting anyone from KMT mayoral candidate Sean Lien’s (連勝文) office to check them.
Although Lo immediately told reporters that she would lead a team of accountants to check the bank statements in person, Lo sent her office director, Lu Wei (盧威), to Ko’s campaign office. However, Lu failed to complete the mission, as he would not go into Ko’s office. Moreover, Lu did not bring any authorization signed by Lien.
Lo continued to accuse Ko of corruption and yesterday questioned a NT$200,000 (US$6,600) transfer from private enterprises into the shared account used by the unit.
This prompted Ko to say that Lo’s accusations had become intolerable and that Lo could file a lawsuit against him if she still found the bank accounts questionable.
The independent candidate said in a press conference last week that the “donations,” ranging from tens of thousands up to NT$1 million, were fees that businesses, medical schools and other institutions paid him to deliver speeches.
Instead of having the money wired to his personal account, Ko said he had asked that the money be transferred to the shared account so that it could be used to sponsor unit members’ medical research projects and to cover the team’s social expenses.
Moreover, the account is a private account for the unit’s team members and so the money can be spent on anything, as long as the team members consent to it, Ko said.
Lien’s campaign might be resorting to a negative campaign strategy because Lien’s support rate has remained lower than Ko’s throughout the run-up to the election.
However, for a mayoral election campaign — especially for a leading city — the focus should be on policy proposals and the vision each candidate has for the city.
Certainly, private issues about a candidate could be discussed, especially when a candidate’s handling of money could reflect whether their conduct is ethical, but repeatedly asking the same questions based on the same material despite repeated explanations is not only upsetting for Ko — voters are becoming fed up with it.
In other words, the bank account allegations are cashed out; it is time to invest more discussions on real issues.
There are moments in history when America has turned its back on its principles and withdrawn from past commitments in service of higher goals. For example, US-Soviet Cold War competition compelled America to make a range of deals with unsavory and undemocratic figures across Latin America and Africa in service of geostrategic aims. The United States overlooked mass atrocities against the Bengali population in modern-day Bangladesh in the early 1970s in service of its tilt toward Pakistan, a relationship the Nixon administration deemed critical to its larger aims in developing relations with China. Then, of course, America switched diplomatic recognition
The international women’s soccer match between Taiwan and New Zealand at the Kaohsiung Nanzih Football Stadium, scheduled for Tuesday last week, was canceled at the last minute amid safety concerns over poor field conditions raised by the visiting team. The Football Ferns, as New Zealand’s women’s soccer team are known, had arrived in Taiwan one week earlier to prepare and soon raised their concerns. Efforts were made to improve the field, but the replacement patches of grass could not grow fast enough. The Football Ferns canceled the closed-door training match and then days later, the main event against Team Taiwan. The safety
The National Immigration Agency on Tuesday said it had notified some naturalized citizens from China that they still had to renounce their People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizenship. They must provide proof that they have canceled their household registration in China within three months of the receipt of the notice. If they do not, the agency said it would cancel their household registration in Taiwan. Chinese are required to give up their PRC citizenship and household registration to become Republic of China (ROC) nationals, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. He was referring to Article 9-1 of the Act
The Chinese government on March 29 sent shock waves through the Tibetan Buddhist community by announcing the untimely death of one of its most revered spiritual figures, Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche. His sudden passing in Vietnam raised widespread suspicion and concern among his followers, who demanded an investigation. International human rights organization Human Rights Watch joined their call and urged a thorough investigation into his death, highlighting the potential involvement of the Chinese government. At just 56 years old, Rinpoche was influential not only as a spiritual leader, but also for his steadfast efforts to preserve and promote Tibetan identity and cultural
RSS