The opposition yesterday blasted President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) reported holding of US permanent residence status, saying that Ma has been lying about the issue and should step down over what it described as his lack of integrity.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairman Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and former premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) both said Ma has lost his legitimacy to govern after being found to be evading taxes as a holder of US permanent residence status, which was reported by the Chinese-language Next Magazine yesterday.
The report showed that Ma has always lied to Taiwanese about his “green card” status, in particular during the presidential campaign in 2007, when the topic was a central theme of the election, Hsieh said.
Hsieh said Ma had also lied to late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) about his green card since he entered politics in the 1980s.
Ma’s argument that his green card was no longer effective after leaving the US and not using it for more than a year was not consistent with what happened to several former Cabinet members in his administration, who had to renounce their permanent residence status in the US or Canada to invalidate the status, DPP Policy Research Committee executive director Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said.
US green card status is only invalidated under three circumstances, Wu said.
“One, if one sends a written declaration to the US immigration authorities to renounce the right. Two, if the US Immigration authority invalidated the status. Three, if a US federal court terminates the residence status in a ruling,” he said, adding that Ma’s explanation was not among the three circumstances.
“Ma has disgraced the country and he has to offer an explanation on the matter in person, rather than issuing press releases,” Wu said.
Taiwan Solidarity Union caucus convener Lai Chen-chang (賴振昌) said Ma’s tax controversy was “ridiculous” and his credibility “is now officially bankrupt.”
“If Ma ended up filing taxes to the US Internal Revenue Services, that means he’s been lying to the people of Taiwan. If he does not offer a clear explanation on the matter within three days, we do not rule out filing a lawsuit against him,” Lai said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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