President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday appointed Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) Chairman David Lee (李大維) as the new Presidential Office secretary-general, as she warned the Cabinet against damaging the public’s trust in the government.
Lee replaces Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), who resigned on Sunday, after his nephew, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Su Chen-ching (蘇震清), was implicated in a bribery case.
Su Jia-chyuan said that he was worried it could negatively affect Tsai’s presidency.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Su Chen-ching is accused of taking bribes from businessman Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆) to lobby for a legal amendment.
Lee Heng-lung has been engaged in a legal fight with Far Eastern Group (遠東集團) chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) over ownership of the Pacific Sogo Department Store (太平洋崇光百貨) chain since the early 2000s.
Prosecutors suspect that Su Chen-ching and others had been accepting bribes since 2013 to lobby for a retroactive amendment to the Company Act (公司法) clauses on capital increases, which would give Lee Heng-lung’s company legal grounds to regain control of Pacific Sogo.
David Lee, who was the National Security Council secretary-general until he was appointed to head the SEF in May, is an “important partner” in the nation’s politics, Tsai said.
The president thanked Lee for accepting the reassignment on such short notice and expressed confidence in his ability to adjust to the new position.
Tsai warned legislators across party lines against taking bribes, saying that “the goal of engaging in politics is not to seek personal gain, but to work for the betterment of Taiwan.”
Tsai said she understood Su Jia-chyuan’s decision to resign and that she respected it.
The DPP would discuss with the Executive Yuan the best way to proceed with penalties for the legislators implicated in the case, she said.
Despite pressure on the party over the case, it would handle the issue with professionalism, she said.
If the implicated are found guilty, they would be punished in accordance with the law, with no regard to the fact they are members of the ruling party, she said.
“However, even if they are not guilty according to the law, that does not mean the case would not impact the public’s impression of the government, or harm the public’s trust,” she said, adding that Cabinet members should be vigilant in their actions, and hold themselves to higher standards.
David Lee’s first task in his new post at the Presidential Office would be to organize a state funeral for former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), Tsai said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
‘BOOMING’: ’ The number of partners we have here is incredible. You can see from their stock prices. They’re doing so well, they’re so happy,’ Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp’s spending in Taiwan has ballooned to about US$150 billion a year, 10 times the US$10 billion to US$15 billion the company spent five years ago, Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said yesterday, suggesting Taiwan’s strategic importance in the global artificial intelligence (AI) supply chain. “Taiwan is the epicenter of the AI revolution. This is where the chips come, packaging comes. This is where the systems are made. This is where AI supercomputers were created,” Huang said at a meeting for the company’s employees in Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei, the planned site of Nvidia’s Taipei headquarters. “Taiwan
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
RSS