Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
He also denied widespread speculation that the outcome of the investigation would be announced today, while declining to confirm whether or not he had visited prosecutors on Wednesday morning to defend himself.
"The case is still under investigation and I should not make any comments before the investigations are complete," Ma, a former Taipei mayor, told reporters yesterday at KMT headquarters.
KMT Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) later confirmed that Ma had, on his own initiative, visited the Black Gold Investigation Center at 7:30am on Wednesday. Su said Ma had explained once again to prosecutors that he had acted within the regulations when he wired half of his mayoral allowance to his personal bank account.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers last August accused Ma of embezzling half of his special monthly mayoral allowance -- NT$170,000 -- by depositing the funds into his personal bank account.
At the end of last year, Ma was twice questioned by Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (
Ma said yesterday that the investigation was still underway and would not be concluded by today. He added that he was not sure whether the case would be concluded before the Lunar New Year holidays.
"I am not discouraged or helpless. It's not that serious. I have been sticking to my schedule and doing the things I need to do," Ma said.
Taipei City Government Secretariat Director Lee Sush-der(李述德) said prosecutors questioned former Taipei mayoral office staffer Yu Wen (余文) -- who has admitted to submitting fraudulent receipts used in the accounting for Ma's special allowance fund -- on Monday and Wednesday. Lee added that prosecutors had also questioned staff at the secretariat and Ma's bodyguards several times recently.
Meanwhile, the KMT legislative caucus yesterday called on prosecutors to be thorough in their investigations.
"This case is not a simple matter because Ma had no criminal intent. There would be no justice if Ma were indicted," KMT Legislator Hsu Shao-ping (
KMT Secretary-General Wu Den-yih (
Wu was referring to Vice President Annette Lu (
Wu added that Ma would definitely step down from his position as chairman if indicted.
In related news, People First Party (PFP) Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) yesterday suggested that Ma should run in the 2008 presidential election on behalf of the KMT-PFP alliance, instead of the KMT, if he is indicted.
Wu said the KMT appreciated the PFP's gesture, but that the KMT hadn't yet decided what it would do if Ma were indicted.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Tsai Huang-liang (
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS