The legislature passed a proposal Thursday night by the opposition People First Party (PFP) to set up a committee to investigate an alleged secret fund of the National Security Bureau (NSB).
The PFP alleged that a huge sum of "pocket money" of the NSB, which it estimated at more than NT$3 billion (US$85.47 million) and is comprised of money left over from its annual budgets, has eluded the legislature's monitoring.
In light of the allegations, PFP legislative whip Chou Hsi-wei (周錫偉) said his party has proposed setting up a committee to press the NSB to give a full accounting of the secret money, including principal and interest, and the use of the funds over the years to make sure that the money has not been misappropriated.
Legislators did not pass the proposal during the first vote, with only 58 for and 64 against the motion, mainly due to opposition from the ruling DPP. Chou then resubmitted the proposal after the PFP solicited the support of opposition legislators. It then passed with 73 for and 61 against.
The secret fund of the NSB first came to light when the PFP legislative caucus reported that the NSB channeled tens of millions of dollars out of the fund to the Taiwan Research Institute, a think tank with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) as its honorary chairman.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
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