Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said yesterday that he was not involved in the snowballing bribery scandal involving the city council's speaker election because, as a lawyer, he would not commit such misconduct.
"For the past 20 years of my career [as a politician], I have detested bribery. I understand it is a crime and would not commit such misbehavior in a bid to build a harmonious relationship between the city government and council," he said.
Hsieh made the comments last night upon arriving at CKS Airport.
Hsieh said at a press conference today that he will make public a list of telephone records prior to the election on Dec. 25 to prove his innocence.
He said he had tried to persuade DPP city councilors not to vote for Chu An-hsiung (
The DPP is standing behind Hsieh.
DPP Deputy Secretary-General Michael You (
Prosecutors suspect Wang approached city councilors, asking them to vote for Chu in the election on Dec. 25 and later delivered bribe money on Chu's behalf.
You said yesterday that the party has never harbored any doubts about Hsieh's integrity, adding that Hsieh's explanation of the affair to the Central Standing Committee should satisfy doubters.
Opposition parties yesterday requested that Hsieh step down to shoulder responsibility. You said the demand would not help the investigation because one should not mix politics and justice.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
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