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.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS