Finance minister Paul Chiu (
Lawmakers from all three parties had pressed Chiu to specify if there were other "secret accounts" in addition to the two accounts at the Chung Hsing Bills Finance Co (???2憎?膝q) that have already been exposed -- which are under the names of Soong's son, Soong Chen-yuan (宋鎮遠), and Soong's sister-in-law, Chen Pi-yun (3笑捅3).
Chiu told lawmakers that the account had not been opened in Soong's name, but declined to disclose any names or other details on the grounds that he is obliged to protect the privacy of the people concerned.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, LIBERTY TIMES.
"The transaction amount [of the third account] ranges somewhere between that of the previous two accounts, but I can't provide any details," Chiu said.
Chiu did not make any denials when DPP legislator Cheng Pao-ching (
The ministry has completed an investigation into allegations of tax evasion by Soong, which will be forwarded to judicial authorities for further investigation.
The lawmakers were also interested to know if Soong, in his previous explanations over the two exposed cases, had hidden any facts -- such as the total amount of money remitted overseas from the accounts and how the balance was handled.
Refering to the NT$470 million, Soong's camp said the money likely referred to campaign funds from the KMT to finance his gubernatorial campaign in 1994, but insisted there wasn't any single entry over NT$300 million. While most of the money was spent on the election, they said, the remaining balance was donated to a foundation connected to Lee for the setting up a scholarship at Soong's alma mater, the University of California, Berkeley.
Chiu said the Finance Ministry's investigation has found that the money was drawn in the form of 19 checks.
At yesterday's legislative session, however, Chiu said two of the 19 checks had been cashed, adding that Soong had drawn other checks besides those 19.
Chiu also confirmed that there were other overseas remittals in addition to US$800,000 that Soong said was intended for the Chiang family, and another US$1 million that was donated to UC Berkeley.
These other remittances had been made from the accounts of Soong's "associates," Chiu said.
The KMT suspects that Soong embezzled the money from the KMT-run business, taking advantage of his position as KMT secretary-general and chairman of the KMT-run Hua Hsia Investment Holding Co (
"These are accounts set up outside the established institutions," Huang said. "The deposits were conducted without the knowledge of the party's treasury and not through the normal administrative mechanism." Huang said another controversial part about Soong's behavior is the fact that Soong had transferred the money from these two special accounts to the accounts of his son and sister-in-law.
Soong's campaign office, meanwhile, said they have decided to hire a group of accountants and lawyers to make public all of Soong's accounts and their monetary flows to prove Soong's innocence.
Soong's aides said the so-called secret account mentioned by Chiu could be one of the deposit entries that occurred during Soong's gubernatorial campaign.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
RSS