Presidential Office spokesman Ting Yun-kung (丁允恭) yesterday said that he would sue Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) over his accusation that people around President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) are corrupt.
On Monday, Ko said that although Tsai is not corrupt herself, “everyone around you [Tsai] is knee-deep in graft.”
Ko cited a judicial investigation into the alleged smuggling of duty-free cigarettes on a presidential flight involving National Security Bureau and Presidential Office officials, and China Airlines employees, as well as various financial scandals:
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In 2016, US financial regulators fined Mega International Commercial Bank for money laundering; Ching Fu Shipbuilding, after winning a Ministry of Defense contract in 2014, allegedly used bank loans to invest in business projects in China; XPEC Entertainment Inc was implicated in investment fraud in 2016; and construction of Terminal 3 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport has repeatedly been delayed.
Ting said that he has registered a judicial complaint against Ko, as he has never been associated with any such corruption cases.
He also said that he would take legal action against the Ko-linked “Taiwan White Voice” Facebook page, which listed a “Ting Yun-kung case” among other alleged financial scandals.
“I have no idea about what the ‘Ting Yun-kung case’ is about,” Ting said. “It is despicable to accuse someone by putting their name among some major scandals to harm their reputation.”
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ding-yu (王定宇) said that Ko has distorted the truth and misled the public about cases that took place during the previous Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
Wang condemned Ko for turning a blind eye to his own financial impropriety in the Taipei City Government.
“Mayor Ko, you should examine your own record and have a good look at the city’s five major public construction scandals, including the Taipei Dome project with Farglory Group,” he said.
“To imitate Ko’s way of speaking, I would like to say that ‘the people around Ko are deeply corrupt,’ as they have met in secret with big conglomerates to make under-the-table deals on these projects,” Wang said.
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