Taipei prosecutors said Monday that they do not rule out the possibility of launching a new round of investigations into the Chung Hsing Bills Finance case, which was originally closed more than two years ago, a Chinese-language newspaper reported yesterday.
In the run-up to the March 2000 presidential election, the KMT filed a lawsuit against PFP Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜) -- a former KMT secretary-general -- for embezzling party funds totaling around NT$360 million and forging party seals to open bank accounts in the party's name without authorization.
In 2001, Taipei prosecutors decided not to indict Soong. The decision was made based on Soong's explanation that he was using the money to carry out special tasks ordered by then KMT chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
According to a front-page report in a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday, Taipei prosecutors may decide to further investigate the case after their recent interview with Lee, a key figure in the alleged scandal.
The report said that Lee denied many of Soong's allegations during the interview last week. He also clarified his role in the scandal in several respects.
Soong had told Taipei prosecutors that, during his term as both secretary-general of the KMT and chairman of the KMT-controlled Huahsia Investment Holding Company (
During the interview, Lee said that he knew nothing about these accounts, claiming that he never authorized Soong to open any accounts to handle special party tasks. He also said that he did not order Soong to hand over these accounts to his successor when Soong left his post, proving that he knew nothing about them.
Lee also said that a large amount of money -- including political donations made to the party and profits of the KMT-controlled Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC, 中廣) -- was later transferred by Soong to about 20 private accounts.
Lee said that he never allowed Soong to transfer party funds to any private accounts, and that this would never have happened if he had known about it beforehand.
Lee admitted that he did approve Soong's suggestion of setting up a special account to take care of the family of the former president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國). But he said that the limit of the special fund was about NT$26 million -- not more than NT$60 million, as Soong claimed.
Lee said that Soong was using the account for the Chiang family to divert people's attention.
Yesterday, Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chen Hung-ta (
PFP legislator and spokesman Hwang Yih-jiau (
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS