Suspected gangster and independent legislator Lo Fu-chu (
Lo received the support of KMT legislators.
In addition, Lo's son, KMT lawmaker Lo Ming-tsai (羅明才), was elected convener of the legislature's Finance Committee (財政委員會), along with KMT legislator Gary Wang (王令麟).
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The younger Lo was once accused by lawmakers of coercing bankers into giving him loans, while Wang is currently charged with illegally pocketing NT$400 million in a shady land deal.
The legislature's committees are made up of 21 members, including three conveners. One member from the KMT and DPP act as convener, along with one independent.
The committees meet once a week and the position of convener alternates among the three. The convener's role is to take turns chairing the meeting and coordinating the agenda for the following week's meeting.
Lo Fu-chu is allegedly connected to Tiendaomeng (天道盟), an organized crime group, raising doubts as to the appropriateness of his membership on the Judicial Committee.
"I cannot bear to see the president of the Judicial Yuan Weng Yueh-sheng (
Tsai added that legislators who have been indicted or convicted on criminal charges should not run for convener of the Judicial Committee. He also said that former Minister of Justice Liao Cheng-hao (
Bowing before fellow committee members is a ritual practiced under local governmental protocol when making reports or presentations.
In response to Tsai's remarks, Lo yesterday angrily threatened to file libel suits against the lawmaker and blamed the media for discrediting him.
"I did not steal my post as legislator and the media are not being fair with me. How could you all treat me like a mafioso without evidence?" Lo said, lashing out at reporters at the Legislative Yuan yesterday.
Defending his father, Lo Ming-tsai blamed other legislators and the media for tarnishing his father's name. In addition, the younger Lo asked prominent local Buddhist leader the Venerable Sheng-yen (
Sheng-yen, in response, urged Lo Ming-tsai to ignore the criticism of others. The spiritual leader advised legislators, including both Los, to engage in introspection, saying: "As long as you think you are doing the right thing, you shouldn't care too much about what other people think of you."
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,