Former Panamanian president Mireya Moscoso will sue the group of People First Party (PFP) law-makers who alleged she received a US$1 million "settlement" from President Chen Shui-bian (
According to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report, Moscoso said she was "going to put a halt to this campaign of calumnies."
Moscoso's statement on Thursday was in response to allegations made by PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄), Legislator Tsai Chung-han (蔡中涵) and UFO Radio chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康), who said Chen had presented a check of US$1 million to her as a birthday gift and as a "settlement fee" for Chen's "improper dealings," apparently referring to sexual harassment.
"This could be the first of a series of lawsuits to be filed against those who seek to stain my reputation, here in Panama or abroad," Moscoso was quoted as saying in the AFP report.
Moscoso's presidency ended last month after an election loss to President Martin Torrijos in May.
Earlier on Thursday, Chen instructed lawyer Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to sue the three men. Instead of seeking financial compensation if the court finds for him, Chen has asked that the verdict be published and that the three apologize in five Chinese-language newspapers over three consecutive days.
Liu fired back yesterday by saying that Panamanian Prosecutor General Jose Antonio Sosa had announced an investigation into whether a NT$45 million donation to the Mar del Sur Foundation set up by Moscoso was mishandled. He said Moscoso's decision to sue him and his colleagues might have been motivated by the need to "protect herself," though he did not elaborate on this.
Liu also said there was a hint of Taiwanese-style politicking in Moscoso's threat to commence legal action.
"Since Chen has also filed suit against me, I just wonder if the Presidential Office is joining hands with outsiders to fight against Taiwanese [Taiwanren]?" Liu said at a news conference held yesterday afternoon.
Liu also speculated that Moscoso might use funds from the Mar del Sur Foundation for the lawsuit.
If so, he asked, "would there end up being a scenario in which Taiwanese taxpayers' money was being used to fight against a Taiwanese?"
Liu is a Mainlander.
In an unusual development, some of Liu's colleagues from the pan-blue alliance, including KMT Legislator Sun Kuo-hua (
At a separate news conference held earlier yesterday morning, Liu had acknowledged "there were flaws in [his Wednesday] remarks" and offered an apology, but only for using vulgar language.
He insisted however that he had not erred in pursuing issues concerning diplomatic donations and said that it was necessary to continue "hunting for the truth" of the matter.
In contrast to Liu's offer of an apology, Jaw yesterday said that he would sue Chen if the president did not clarify within three days whom he was referring to when he cited a poem verse on Thursday which read, "many devils are there where men are sparse" (
Chen was apparently describing his feelings about the pending lawsuit and the allegations made against him.
"If Chen does not make a clarification in three days, I will take legal action against him because I think the `devil' he was referring to was me," he said.
Presidential Office spokesman Chen Wen-tsung (
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
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