Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday criticized the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office over not indicting former air force commander Lei Yu-chi (雷玉其) for his alleged abuse of administrative resources.
Lei was removed from his post in January after media reports said that he had mobilized dozens of military staff to help out at his son’s wedding.
SON’S WEDDING
Held for 700 guests at the Air Force Officers and Soldiers Recreation Center in Taipei, reports alleged that the preparations for the wedding banquet included the use of large numbers of military personnel and a Hummer.
The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office’s Special Investigation Division (SID) announced on Thursday that it had interviewed Lei and about 100 air force personnel, and decided that Lei did not violate any article of the Criminal Code by using scores of military personnel to work at the wedding.
The SID said Lei might have violated public servants’ ethics regulations and be disciplined, but he would not be charged under the Criminal Code.
DISAPPOINTMENT
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) told a press conference yesterday that the party caucus was disappointed with the investigation’s outcome, adding that the SID had been in favor of having a high-ranking military official as part of the investigation.
WHY COMPLAIN?
DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) also asked that, if all the air force personnel served at the wedding voluntarily, why did some of them reveal the matter to the news media and expressed their discontent?
Huang said that the result of the investigation was contrary to people’s usual distinction between private use and public use of military personnel, and would encourage other military officials to misuse their position in the armed forces.
‘NEVER!’ Taiwan FactCheck Center said it had only received donations from the Open Society Foundations, which supports nonprofits that promote democratic values Taiwan FactCheck Center (TFC) has never received any donation from the US Agency for International Development (USAID), a cofounder of the organization wrote on his Facebook page on Sunday. The Taipei-based organization was established in 2018 by Taiwan Media Watch Foundation and the Association of Quality Journalism to monitor and verify news and information accuracy. It was officially registered as a foundation in 2021. National Chung Cheng University communications professor Lo Shih-hung (羅世宏), a cofounder and chairman of TFC, was responding to online rumors that the TFC receives funding from the US government’s humanitarian assistance agency via the Open Society Foundations (OSF),
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
ANNUAL LIGHT SHOW: The lanterns are exhibited near Taoyuan’s high-speed rail station and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the airport MRT line More than 400 lanterns are to be on display at the annual Taiwan Lantern Festival, which officially starts in Taoyuan today. The city is hosting the festival for the second time — the first time was in 2016. The Tourism Administration held a rehearsal of the festival last night. Chunghwa Telecom donated the main lantern of the festival to the Taoyuan City Government. The lanterns are exhibited in two main areas: near the high-speed rail (HSR) station in Taoyuan, which is at the A18 station of the Taoyuan Airport MRT, and around the Taoyuan Sports Park Station of the MRT
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights