Presidential Office Secretary-General Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) yesterday resigned after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case related to a dispute over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨).
“I resigned from the post so that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) would not be bothered by it anymore, and the prosecutors can investigate the case in a fair and just manner. I thank President Tsai once again for supporting me. May the country continue to prosper under her leadership,” Su Jia-chyuan said in a statement.
The Presidential Office said that Tsai has accepted Su Jia-chyuan’s resignation, adding that Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Jason Liu (劉建忻) would serve as acting director-general.
Photo: CNA
The former Legislative Yuan speaker assumed the post at the Presidential Office when Tsai started her second term on May 20.
“I have been doing my job as a chief of staff at the Presidential Office with fear and trembling with the hope of sharing the burden borne by the president. However, all the mudslinging campaigns against me, as well as the scandal that involves my nephew, have caused trouble for the president. For this I am deeply sorry,” Su Jia-chyuan said in the statement.
He said that he has never “crossed the line” in his 30-year-long political career and has nothing to hide, adding that he and his wife have never been investigated or indicted in any corruption cases.
He also said that he would not accept an unsubstantiated and twisted allegation that he has abused his authority to benefit his relatives, adding that he would vigorously defend his innocence.
Taipei prosecutors on Saturday filed a motion to detain Su Chen-ching, along with four other former and incumbent lawmakers as part of an investigation into bribery allegations against six current and former legislators and their aides.
The court hearing on whether to grant the prosecutors’ request to detain them was ongoing as of press time last night.
The DPP’s anti-corruption committee convened a meeting at 8pm to discuss the penalties for Su Chen-ching and former legislator Mark Chen (陳唐山), who has also been implicated in the case and was released on NT$500,000 bail early on Saturday.
Based on the party’s anti-corruption guidelines, the committee would first investigate the charges against the two, and each would be given an opportunity to tell their side of the story.
The guidelines also stipulate that the committee can still make a decision even if it does not hear from Su Chen-ching, as long as half of the committee members are present.
“The case has entered legal proceedings. We hope that judicial institutions can quickly clarify the details so justice can be served,” the DPP said.
Political insiders in Pingtung County have said that Su Chen-ching, who has been a legislator since 2008, has been aggressively setting up his campaign to run for county commissioner in 2022.
His implication in the corruption scandal could severely disrupt his plan, they said.
BREAKING RECORDS: Kuo Hsing-chun’s snatch, clean and jerk, and combined lifts were all Olympic records, although well off her combined world record Taiwanese weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun (郭婞淳) yesterday completed her elusive quest for Olympic gold, clinching Taiwan’s first win at the Tokyo Games as she set Olympic records in the women’s under-59kg weight class. Kuo, who has not lost a major competition in her weight class since the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she was hampered by injury and finished third, finally chased down the gold medal that had long remained just out of her grasp. The 27-year-old finished with a combined lift of 236kg — 103kg in the snatch and 133kg in the clean and jerk — 21kg more
A TAIWAN FIRST: The duo are the first badminton players from Taiwan to climb an Olympic podium, and Tai Tzu-ying has a shot at doing the same today Taiwanese badminton duo Lee Yang (李洋) and Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) yesterday won the nation’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport when they prevailed over a third-seeded Chinese pair in the final of the men’s doubles at the Tokyo Olympics. Lee and Wang, both first-time Olympians, defeated Liu Yuchen (劉雨辰) and Li Junhui (李俊慧) 21-18, 21-12 in a 34-minute final at the Musashino Forest Sports Plaza. As of yesterday, Taiwan had bagged seven medals in Tokyo — two golds, two silvers and three bronzes — topping its previous best of five medals in 2000 and 2004. Taiwan moved to No. 17 in the
NO ‘ONE CHINA’ LIE: The appropriations act passed the US House of Representatives with a vote of 217-212, but still needs Senate approval and the president’s signature The US House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a foreign assistance spending bill with an amendment forbidding that funds be used to create, procure or display maps depicting Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China. The amendment was introduced by five Republican representatives — Tom Tiffany, Steve Chabot, Scott Perry, Kat Cammack and Mike Gallagher — and passed unanimously in a bundle with a dozen other amendments. “This is a common sense measure,” Tiffany said, speaking on the House floor on Wednesday. “As we all know, Taiwan has never been part of communist China. The Taiwanese people elect their
THE HOME TEAM: DPP Legislator Kao Chia-yu said she canceled her booking for an AstraZeneca shot as soon as she heard that the Medigen vaccine was an option President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday said that she would get inoculated with the COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Taiwan-based Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗). Tsai wrote on Facebook that she had registered for her first vaccine dose using the national online COVID-19 vaccination booking system, which allows people to indicate their preferred vaccine brand and to make an appointment when the shot becomes available. Tsai said that she opted for the Medigen vaccine — one of three now available on the system, along with the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines — even though Medigen has yet to deliver any doses or provide a
RSS