Independent lawmaker and gangster Lo Fu-chu's (
Lo is the duty convener of the Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan that will begin its session next Monday.
"He has called and asked KMT lawmaker Gary Wang (
According to the official statement from Lo's office, he is expected to return to Taiwan on Nov. 3, which is also the scheduled grand opening of KMT lawmaker Lo Ming-tsai's (
"Advisors were divided into two different groups according to their opinions of the lawmaker," Ma said. "Some of us asked him not to come back at this moment because it is quite possible that investigators will ask him not to leave again as prescribed by the law. Another group of us, including some lawmakers of the Finance Committee, want him to come back immediately because he will be the key to resolving lots of misunderstandings."
Ma said that Lo needed to surrender himself to investigators if necessary to clear his name.
"Also," Ma said, "his coming back and standing up for his son will definitely be a great help to his son's election effort."
Legislative speaker Wang Jin-pyng (
"If he can come back," the speaker said, "I think it will be great and a brave move for him to resolve his own problems instead of leaving everybody here to wonder and guess."
One of Lo's important advisors surnamed Chen left Taiwan for Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday afternoon to help Lo take care of his local business there.
Lo's office did not indicate what kind of business the lawmaker is dealing with in Thailand.
An initial police review of Lo's case was conducted on Monday. A committee consisting of prosecutors and police officers at the Second Chungcheng Police Precinct recommended that Lo be placed on the nation's list of hoodlums.
Prosecutors on Oct. 8 made 14 separate charges against Lo and police investigators found 11 of them to be credible.
Lo's case was immediately handed over to the Taipei Police Headquarters for a second review on Tuesday.
An eight-member committee at police headquarters decided unanimously on the same day when Lo flew to Hong Kong to put the lawmaker on Taiwan's official list of hoodlums.
Upon the approval of the committee at police headquarters, Lo's case has been sent back to the Second Chungcheng Police Precinct for further investigation before a decision is made on whether to prosecute.
Once Lo receives the summons issued by prosecutors, he will have a week to voluntarily turn himself in.
If he fails to turn himself in, police can arrest him if the legislature lifts his constitutional immunity, which would need the approval of more than half the legislators attending a quorate session.
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS