President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday praised the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) investigations into bribery and corruption allegations against military personnel over the past year, and promised to apply high standards and demand integrity from the military.
The ministry set up a commission in April last year to probe promotion bribery scandals and corruption cases that have haunted the military. The findings of the investigation were presented on Thursday and indicated that no generals were involved in paying bribes for promotion or accepted any bribes.
Ma yesterday praised the ministry for its thorough investigation of more than 4,000 military personnel, including 910 current and retired senior officials, and apologized to those who were found innocent in the investigation.
“I want to give my regards to high-ranking officers who, through this investigation, have been shown to be innocent. They might have felt uncomfortable during the process, but it's worth the sacrifice to show that the military is innocent and honorable,” Ma told a press conference at the Presidential Office to mark the first anniversary of the military's anti-corruption campaign.
Ma said he instructed the ministry to report to him on the investigation every month.
He added that efforts to ensure the integrity of the military would continue, and called on the public to report any information they might have on bribery or corruption cases to the authorities.
Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱), Justice Minister Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) and National Security Bureau Director Tsai Der-sheng (蔡得勝) also attended the press conference.
The investigation was launched last year following a series of alleged military scandals, including accusations that several high-ranking officers secured promotions after they offered bribes.
Chang Shan-dong (張善東), a leading military inspector, said the ministry reviewed the promotions of 910 officials from the rank of general or flag officers, including some who had already retired.
Among them, 124 have been referred to an ad hoc investigation team for further scrutiny because of irregularities in their promotions.
Among the accused military officials, former lieutenant-general Yuan Hsiao-lung (袁肖龍) was indicted by Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office last year, along with 11 businessmen, on charges of bribery and blackmail.
Former chief of general staff Huo Shou-yeh (霍守業) was accused of accepting bribes from Yuan.
The report said since Yuan did not receive a promotion, it was not a case of securing a promotion in exchange for a bribe.
Ma yesterday declined to take any questions from the press at the conference.
Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) later dismissed concerns that the investigation results were to protect military personnel from scandals.
At another meeting yesterday on the legislature's Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the results showed the report was “just a show” by Ma instead of a real solution to the problem.
“He didn’t address the real issue. Instead, all the report did was try and give his image a boost in the face of lagging opinion polls,” he said.
Ker also questioned the tactics used to conduct the investigation, saying that it “cast doubt on the ability of our army.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VINCENT Y. CHAO AND CNA
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
PERSONAL DATA: The implicated KMT members allegedly compiled their petitions by copying names from party lists without the consent of the people concerned Judicial authorities searched six locations yesterday and questioned six people, including one elderly Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) member and five KMT Youth League associates, about alleged signature forgery and fraud relating to their recall efforts against two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. After launching a probe into alleged signature forgery and related fraud in the KMT’s recall effort, prosecutors received a number of complaints, including about one petition that had 1,748 signatures of voters whose family members said they had already passed away, and also voters who said they did not approve the use of their name, Taipei Deputy Chief Prosecutor
RSS