Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Secretary-General Lee Shu-chuan (李四川) yesterday were called in for questioning by the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office over the replacement of Deputy Legislative Speaker Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) as the KMT’s presidential candidate.
Hung was also interviewed, but separately from Chu and Lee.
The division launched an investigation after two opposition lawmakers filed lawsuits over Hung’s ouster from the presidential race.
Photo: CNA
Chu and Lee left the SID’s office in Taipei after about two hours, and were greeted by a throng of reporters.
The accusations were “groundless, and had no basis in fact,” Chu told reporters, adding that the entire process had been handled “in an open and transparent manner” at the expedient KMT party congress on Saturday last week.
The procedures had been clearly explained to the public, he said, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was “abusing the resources of the judicial system” by filing the accusations and asking the SID to initiate an investigation.
“These politicians used this ploy to interfere in the election. I very much disagree with their actions. They are causing a lot of damage to Taiwan’s democracy,” Chu said.
“However, I will face all the accusations and rumor-mongering with courage. I believe all voters can see that this is not the proper way to deal with a political party’s chairman and a nominee as candidate for the presidential election, he said.”
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) filed suit against Chu and Lee on Oct. 7, followed by Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) Legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安), who filed a similar complaint.
The SID said it decided to combine the two lawsuits into one case for the purposes of investigation, with prosecutor Ko Yi-fen (柯宜汾) appointed to handle the case.
Chou and Chen accused Chu and Lee of “so inn a teng” (搓圓仔湯), a commonly used Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese) term that means “kneading to make rice ball soup.”
When used in a political context, the term means schemes involving coaxing a candidate to drop out of a race by offering money, a government position or other enticements.
However, such actions are a violation of Article 84 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法), which stipulates that “anyone who asks for an expected promise or asks a candidate or a person having the qualification of candidate to abandon the campaign or conduct certain actions on by offering bribes or other undue benefits” is punishable by law.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS