Several lawmakers yesterday expressed concerns about Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Sz-huai (吳斯懷) requesting information from the Ministry of National Defense for information — which reportedly included highly classified materials on military units.
Wu, a retired lieutenant general, previously sparked controversy when he reportedly attended an event in China commemorating the 150th birthday of Sun Yat-sen (孫逸仙) in 2016, when he sat through a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and stood for a rendition of the Chinese national anthem.
The ministry on Thursday confirmed that Wu had requested information, with local media quoting a ranking officer as saying that the requests included materials on cyberdefense units at the new Information and Electronic Warfare Command and troop deployments for all three major branches of the armed forces, as well as updates on combined service units and military operations plans.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇), who serves on the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, said that while Wu is a retired officer, he sits on the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, so he should focus on the tasks and issues concerning that panel.
“In addition to requesting information on cyberdefense units, Wu also inquired about the indigenous submarine development program. His actions are worrying and his motives are certainly questionable,” Wang said on Facebook yesterday.
The pro-independence Taiwan Statebuilding Party issued a statement condemning Wu.
“With the global Wuhan virus outbreak, China has stepped up its misinformation campaign, but Wu has not said a word. Now he wants to access classified information on Taiwan’s cyberwarfare units. We have to ask, is Wu collaborating with China from inside the legislature?” the party said.
While Wu’s requests are within the authority of a legislator, the doubts of the Taiwanese public must first be cleared up, Taiwan Statebuilding Party Legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) said, asking Wu: “Which side are you on? For whom do you fight?”
“Taiwanese know who we are fighting … that the enemy is China,” he added.
However, several KMT members defended Wu, saying that requesting information from government agencies is within the scope and authority of legislators.
As veteran, it is reasonable for him to request white papers and other reports from the ministry, Wu said, adding that contrary to media reports, he only requested public information, not “classified military materials.”
In a short statement, the ministry said that it had provided Wu with publicly available information, adding that lawmakers are authorized to make such requests in accordance with the legislature’s oversight role.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique