The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office has filed a motion to detain independent Legislator Chao Cheng-yu (趙正宇) and former New Power Party chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) over their alleged involvement in a department store bribery case after they were released on bail.
Three other legislators — Chen Chao-ming (陳超明) and Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), and Su Chen-ching (蘇震清) of the Democratic Progressive Party — as well as former Pacific Distribution Investment Co (太平洋流通) chairman Lee Heng-lung (李恆隆) spent their second day at the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei’s Toucheng District (土城) yesterday while their lawyers sought to have them released on bail.
Lee is the central figure in litigation over the ownership of Pacific Sogo Department Store, which was allegedly why he bribed lawmakers.
Su’s office director, Yu Hsueh-yang (余學洋); Sufin’s office director, Ting Fu-hua (丁復華); and Kuo Ke-ming (郭克銘), a political lobbyist and general manager of Knowledge International Consultancy are also being held at the center as suspects in the corruption probe.
Media reports yesterday quoted sources as saying that Lee spent more than NT$160 million (US$5.42 million at the current exchange rate) in bribes and other payments over the years, adding that other legislators, aides and officials could be implicated as the investigation continues.
The investigation has shown that Lee provided NT$40 million, mostly to legislators, in a bid to have the Company Act (公司法) amended, and to lobby lawmakers to pressure the Ministry of Economic Affairs and other officials to help him wrest back control of Pacific Sogo from Far Eastern Group chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東).
Prosecutors said that they have built solid cases against Chao and Hsu and seek to have them rearrested — Chao had been released on a NT$1 million bail and Hsu on NT$800,000 — to prevent them from fleeing, destroying evidence or colluding with people involved.
A statement released by the DPP after a meeting of its Central Standing Committee quoted President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is also party chairperson, as saying: “It is my expectation for party members to work together on draft bills and amendments. However, we must not allow any special interest groups to get a hand in and influence the process. As the ruling party, we cannot evade this responsibility.”
“Through a recent investigation, we have found that some of our party members are embroiled in this case. It has done serious damage to our party and violated our party’s rules on clean ethics. Therefore the party’s Central Disciplinary Committee has decided to suspend the members’ privileges,” Tsai said.
“It is tough to establish a reputation as a clean and honesty party, but is easy to destroy it. We have members sitting here who remember damage from the last time that we were the ruling party,” she said. “Therefore I want to remind everyone that the DPP cannot repeat these past troubles, but must learn and grow from past lessons.”
Referring to a discussion with the Cabinet and other officials about not treating government jobs as a fast-track to wealth, Tsai said: “Those words were not just to remind us, but to serve as a stringent warning. If we are not aware of this, then it will be a difficult challenge for us to retain power in the 2024 elections.”
Taiwan’s future is dependent on the DPP’s leadership as the ruling party, she said.
“If the party cannot hold on to its majority by staying within clean, honest ethics, then it could hurt Taiwan’s identity and national sovereignty,” Tsai said.
“If that happens, then it will be the total undoing of all our past endeavors and achievements,” she added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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