Minister of Finance Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) yesterday denied speculation that officials in charge of the operation of the National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) had leaked secret information causing huge losses to the fund.
"I can firmly state here that it is impossible that officials of the fund would have leaked the secret information," Yen said yesterday during a meeting of the Finance Committee at the Legislative Yuan.
His announcement, however, came just as the Taiwan High Court's Black Gold Investigation Center filed the case for criminal investigation.
While it is still unclear what part of the story of illegal trading is fact and which is fiction, the growing concern over possible illegal trading began last Thursday after the TAIEX plummeted by 282 points.
It was then that Chinese language media reported that unnamed investors had carried out irregular dumping of certain stocks.
On Sunday most major local newspapers took that story one step further, speculating that information regarding the investment strategy of the National Stabilization Fund had been leaked to brokers, reports said.
During yesterday's meeting Yen did say that the MOF's Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had started an investigation into the accusations, but he added the results of the probe would not be known until two days later.
The officiating prosecutor at the Black Gold Investigation Center said he was still waiting for the SFC to hand over materials and it was still too early to say who he might interview in connection with the accusations.
"We are still trying to figure out whether there really was any insider trading and are yet to identify any suspects," Shih Liang-po (施良波), a spokesman for the center said.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS