The KMT announced yesterday that it had filed a criminal lawsuit against independent presidential candidate James Soong (宋楚瑜) for embezzlement and forgery while serving as a high-ranking party official.
A senior KMT official yesterday said the lawsuit is part of a dual strategy aimed at limiting Soong's chances of winning the March 18 election, while the party's propaganda machine prepared to make a "soft" appeal to veterans' families to "return" to the KMT.
Party officials announced the lawsuit during a news conference at KMT headquarters yesterday following the weekly central standing committee meeting.
PHOTO: GEORGE TSORNG, TAIPEI TIMES.
"The incident is a judicial issue, not a political matter and therefore the public should see the case being pursued through a judicial approach,'' said KMT spokesperson Huang Hwei-chen (黃輝珍).
When asked by reporters whether President and KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (
"Even though Lee himself won't make an appearance in court, if necessary he could write a statement to the court or else delegate KMT officials to attend the court session," Huang said.
According to Chang Nai-liang (
The KMT also accused Soong's sister-in-law, Chen Pi-yun (
Another of the KMT's lawyers for the case said that after the courts handle the criminal charges the ruling party would file a civil suit to try to recover the money it says Soong stole.
A resolution by KMT headquarters, Huang said, is that the party will give the money to charity.
Spokesmen for Soong, how-ever, said they planned to file a countersuit against the KMT for bringing fabricated charges and for deliberately attempting to prevent Soong from being elected as the next president.
While the KMT strongly denies Soong's claim that he and Lee had established a "trust" to handle party money -- the candidate's staff claims to have evidence to prove Soong's innocence.
Hours after the lawsuit was filed, a team of defense lawyers told reporters that the KMT did not have a case.
Soong's attorneys said that Lee approved the transfer of funds for party operations and Soong never embezzled the money.
``We challenge Lee to take a lie-detector test,'' Soong spokesman Liao Wen-chang (
In addition to the seesawing legal drama yesterday, high-ranking KMT officials targeted veterans groups across Taiwan, urging them to abandon Soong in order to save KMT candidate Lien Chan (3s戰).
"The most crucial significance of the unusual financial dealings with the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Corp accounts is that the scandal has damaged Soong, changing him from the most likely winner to the most hopeless loser,'' said Chen Kang-chin (3祟高?, head of the KMT's Taiwan provincial affairs department.
"Soong still has the ability to upset the KMT's dynasty, but lacks the possibility of winning the presidential race on his own," Chen added.
Chen said the KMT would spare no effort to court the families of military veterans -- many of whom are believed to support Soong -- into switching to Lien.
He said the campaign landscape would then become a pitched battle between Lien and the DPP's candidate, Chen Shui-bian (
Further highlighting its strategy, the KMT has already launched a series of negative television ads claiming that Chen has repeatedly changed his stance on many issues thoughout his political career and therefore lacks both stability and credibility.
The KMT's Chen said rural areas are the final bastion of support for the KMT regime.
"Our largest support base lies in Taiwan province, rather than the capital of Taipei," he said.
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
COVETED PRIZE: The US president would be a peace prize laureate should he persuade Xi Jinping to abandon military aggression against Taiwan, William Lai said US President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize should he be able to convince Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to abandon the use of force against Taiwan, President William Lai (賴清德) told a conservative US radio show and podcast in an interview. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer, despite the absence of formal ties, but since Trump took office earlier this year he has not announced any new arms sales to the nation. Trump could meet Xi at the APEC summit in South Korea on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1. Lai, speaking on The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton