The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Friday filed a lawsuit against an individual who alleges that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who doubles as KMT chairman, received a political donation of NT$1 billion (US$32.8 million at current exchange rates) from a scandal-plagued business group during his presidential re-election campaign in 2012.
KMT spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said that Wu Tsu-chia (吳子嘉), in an Oct. 15 article on the my-formosa.com news Web site, said that the Wei (魏) family — owners of the Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團) embroiled in a cooking oil scandal — donated NT$1 billion to Ma.
Ma rejected the claim earlier last week, saying that it and a claim that his top aides “have helped to expand Ting Hsin’s territory,” are untrue.
As Wu failed to apologize before Friday as Ma demanded, the KMT filed a civil suit to demand that Wu publish his apology in four major Chinese-language newspapers — the Apple Daily, the Liberty Times, the United Daily News and the China Times — and that he pay damages of NT$3 million, Chen said.
“Wu’s accusations are by no means true,” Chen said.
Ma’s team received no political donations from Ting Hsin during the 2012 presidential campaign, nor did it receive any donations from the group between 2008 and last year, he said.
In response, Wu said he “stands by his report” and that he would wait for the matter to be settled in court according to the law.
Wu described the my-formosa.com site as a professional media outlet that is responsible for its content.
The site is subject to social assessments and “it uses consistent standards to question political parties, regardless of their political persuasion,” he said.
Wu said that the KMT also cited his article in questioning whether the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had accepted a donation from Ting Hsin.
He said that while the KMT reacted positively to his comments on the DPP and found them credible, the party questioned his remarks on the KMT, a stance he described as “contradictory” and “deplorable.”
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS