The Control Yuan yesterday impeached Hsieh Kung-ping (謝公秉), a top aide of former Hualien County commissioner Fu Kun-chi, for alleged involvement in the bribery of media companies using NT$5.26 million (US$167,090) of public funds.
A probe found that Hsieh, then secretary-general of the Hualien County Government, misappropriated funds from the county’s tax income to pay reporters to write articles and produce news segments trumpeting the achievement of the county government and Fu.
Hsieh and Lin Chin-hu (林金虎), head of the Research and Evaluation Section of the county government, were impeached for “damaging the public trust in the media’s fairness and independence,” and turning media outlets in Hualien into a “propaganda apparatus for Fu’s government,” the Control Yuan said in a report.
Photo: CNA
Hsieh was previously a spokesman for the People First Party and worked for years as a journalist, including 10 years heading up the political news desk at the United Daily News from 1992 to 2001.
Under Fu’s administration, Hsieh and Lin allegedly used a closed tender to create a “media database to promote county government policies,” with regular payments to 25 reporters from 14 news outlets.
Hsieh was recorded on video promising monthly payments of about NT$50,000 for help “gathering information” and to write positive news, with those “awarded” tender bids including reporters from the China Times, the United Daily News, the Keng Sheng Daily News, Formosa TV, Sanlih E-Television, Next TV, CtiTV, China Television Co, TVBS, Taiwan Television, ERA TV, ETTV News, Taiwan Indigenous TV and Hakka TV, the report said.
“Hsieh, as a former senior media figure, should know the ethical principles for news reporting and that reporters must distance themselves from government officials and subjects they are scrutinizing,” the county government said.
“However, Hsieh still utilized the closed tender to award work to reporters, leading to questions of whether public money was used to buy reporters, as well as harm to the county government’s image and the tarnishing of public confidence in media outlets,” it said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS