People First Party lawmakers yesterday alleged that the National Security Bureau has secretly channeled up to NT$500 million from an unmonitored secret account to the Taiwan Research Institute headed by former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
The lawmakers said they discovered that the money has been used to finance the Taiwan Solidarity Union, of which Lee is the spiritual leader, and the Taiwan Advocates, a private think tank founded recently by Lee.
National Security Bureau officials flatly rejected the allegation.
They admitted that the bureau had funded the Taiwan Research Institute last year from an NT$19 million budget earmarked for research projects for local or overseas academic institutions, but would not disclose the details of the projects on the grounds that they are confidential.
The institute, meanwhile, released a statement saying that it only accepts research projects contracted by the government and business sector, and that all the incomes and expenditures of the institute are available for examination.
The PFP lawmakers made the allegation yesterday after a closed-door meeting with a group of National Security Bureau officials, led by bureau director-general Tsai Chao-ming (蔡朝明).
Hsieh Chang-chieh (謝章捷), deputy convener of the PFP legislative caucus, said the bureau, under Lee's instruction, has amassed a sum of money from the surpluses of its annual budgets during the time of Lee's presidency.
Under standard procedure, the surpluses should be returned to the national coffers.
This sum of money, which the lawmakers alleged has become the "private stash" of a small minority of high-ranking government officials, totals at least NT$4 billion including bank interest, Hsieh said.
According to Hsieh, National Security Bureau officials told the lawmakers during the meeting that there is a balance of NT$3 billion, only.
"In other words, it is a mystery as to how the other NT$1 billion has been spent," Hsieh said.
He said the PFP demanded that the bureau brief the caucus on the details of how the money was spent, and the caucus may propose cutting or shelving the bureau's budget unless it is able to offer a satisfactory explanation.
Also, the PFP will not rule out the possibility of cooperating with the KMT to set up a special panel to investigate the secret account, Hsieh said.
"The bureau should never be allowed to spend money without monitoring by the legislature, especially when the money is used to subsidize the operations of political parties or groups," Hsieh said.
The existence of the bureau's secret account first came to light in 2000 following the exposure of an alleged embezzlement case involving former National Security Bureau chief cashier Colonel Liu Kuan-chun (
The NT$90 million allegedly misappropriated by Liu, who fled abroad in September 2000, was allegedly from this account.
According to Hsieh, during closed-door legislative sessions held to review the bureau's budget in the same year, former bureau Director-General Ting Yu-chou (丁渝洲) admitted there was a sum of money that had accumulated from past surpluses and promised to control spending on a case-by-case basis and report to the legislature before drawing on the fund.
The bureau has so far failed to make good on its promise, Hsieh said.
Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯), chief executive of the DPP legislative caucus, met with bureau Director-general Tsai Chao-ming immediately after the PFP made the allegation.
Tsai Huang-liang quoted the bureau head as saying that the secret account has been frozen since the exposure of Liu's case, and that it is impossible for the NSB to draw money from the account to finance the Taiwan Research Institute.
The bureau has kept a clear account of the money spent and has reported to the Control Yuan's Ministry of Audit every three months about this account, Tsai Chao-ming was cited as saying.
MISINFORMATION: The generated content tends to adopt China’s official stance, such as ‘Taiwan is currently governed by the Chinese central government,’ the NSB said Five China-developed artificial intelligence (AI) language models exhibit cybersecurity risks and content biases, an inspection conducted by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The five AI tools are: DeepSeek, Doubao (豆包), Yiyan (文心一言), Tongyi (通義千問) and Yuanbao (騰訊元寶), the bureau said, advising people to remain vigilant to protect personal data privacy and corporate business secrets. The NSB said it, in accordance with the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法), has reviewed international cybersecurity reports and intelligence, and coordinated with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau and the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau to conduct an inspection of China-made AI language
BOOST IN CONFIDENCE: The sale sends a clear message of support for Taiwan and dispels rumors that US President Donald Trump ‘sold out’ the nation, an expert said The US government on Thursday announced a possible sale to Taiwan of fighter jet parts, which was estimated to cost about US$330 million, in a move that an expert said “sends a clear message of support for Taiwan” amid fears that Washington might be wavering in its attitude toward Taipei. It was the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House earlier this year. The proposed package includes non-standard components, spare and repair parts, consumables and accessories, as well repair and return support for the F-16, C-130 and Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft,
CHECKING BOUNDARIES: China wants to disrupt solidarity among democracies and test their red lines, but it is instead pushing nations to become more united, an expert said The US Department of State on Friday expressed deep concern over a Chinese public security agency’s investigation into Legislator Puma Shen (沈伯洋) for “secession.” “China’s actions threaten free speech and erode norms that have underpinned the cross-strait ‘status quo’ for decades,” a US Department of State spokesperson said. The Chongqing Municipal Public Security Bureau late last month listed Shen as “wanted” and launched an investigation into alleged “secession-related” criminal activities, including his founding of the Kuma Academy, a civil defense organization that prepares people for an invasion by China. The spokesperson said that the US was “deeply concerned” about the bureau investigating Shen
DISPUTE: A Chinese official prompted a formal protest from Tokyo by saying that ‘the dirty head that sticks itself out must be cut off,’ after Takaichi’s Taiwan remarks Four armed China Coast Guard vessels yesterday morning sailed through disputed waters controlled by Japan, amid a diplomatic spat following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan. The four ships sailed around the Senkaku Islands — known as the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) to Taiwan, and which Taiwan and China also claim — on Saturday before entering Japanese waters yesterday and left, the Japan Coast Guard said. The China Coast Guard said in a statement that it carried out a “rights enforcement patrol” through the waters and that it was a lawful operation. As of the end of last month,
RSS