Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday promised to launch an investigation into the sources of the money distributed by Chinese tycoon Chen Guangbiao (陳光標) during a visit to Taiwan earlier this year.
In the legislature, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) asked Wu, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Lai Shin-yuan (賴幸媛) and Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) about the total amount of money Chen handed out during his stay in Taiwan from Jan. 26 to Feb. 1.
In addition, Kuan asked how Chen had brought the money into Taiwan, what the funding sources were and who the donations were made to.
However, the trio were unable to provide immediate responses to those questions.
Wu said he read in the media that Chen had given about NT$50 million (US$1.69 million), but Jiang said the figure was NT$90 million, much less than Chen’s claim that he donated NT$500 million in total.
Wu’s and other government officials’ ignorance of what Chen did in Taiwan constitutes a serious blind spot in national security, Kuan said.
Lai said the central bank had started looking into the source of Chen’s funds.
“My understanding is that part of the money was borrowed from taishang,” Lai said, apparently referring to Taiwanese businesspeople based in China.
On the outflow of the money, Jiang said the authorities usually did not take the initiative in tracking the whereabouts of money used for charitable purposes.
“Only if the money is involved in money laundering or other crimes will we launch a thorough investigation,” he said.
An exhibition demonstrating the rejuvenation of the indigenous Kuskus Village in Pingtung County’s Mudan Township (牡丹) opened at the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency’s conservation station in Taipei on Thursday. Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) said they have been promoting the use and development of forestry resources to local indigenous residents for eight years to drive regional revitalization. While modern conservation approaches mostly stem from western scientific research, eco-friendly knowledge and skills passed down through generations of indigenous people, who have lived in Taiwan for centuries, could be more suitable for the environment, he said. The agency’s Pingtung branch Director-General Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬)
Traffic controls are to be in place in Taipei starting tonight, police said, as rallies supporting recall efforts targeting the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers as well as a rally organized by the KMT opposing the recall campaigns are to take place tomorrow. Traffic controls are to be in place on City Hall Road starting from 10pm tonight and on Jinan Road Section 1 starting from 8am tomorrow, police said. Recall campaign groups in Taipei and New Taipei advocating for the recall of KMT legislators, along with the Safeguard Taiwan, Anti-Communist Alliance (反共護台聯盟), have previously announced plans for motorcycle parades and public
A tropical depression near the northwestern Philippines is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Danas by early tomorrow, becoming the fourth tropical storm of the season, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). As of 8am today, the system was located approximately 370 kilometers southwest of Taiwan's southern tip, Cape Eluanbi, and has developed a more organized structure, forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The storm is currently moving slowly toward the Taiwan Strait in an east-northeast direction and may trigger a sea warning if it reaches tropical storm strength tomorrow morning. The system is expected to shift direction later tomorrow toward the north
‘ON THE RIGHT TRACK’: US analysts praised the ‘less scripted’ drills as strengthening defenses and resilience, as confusion and spontaneity are common in actual warfare This month’s annual Han Kuang military exercises are to feature six types of “gray zone” tactics used by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) with the aim of weakening their effectiveness, Chief of the General Staff Admiral Mei Chia-shu (梅家樹) told the military yesterday. The 41st Han Kuang drills, scheduled from Wednesday next week through July 18, would simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion, with President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday saying that Taiwan is already in a “war without gun smoke.” In a speech broadcast to officers and soldiers yesterday, Mei said that the six types of harassment are: legal warfare,
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