United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder Robert Tsao (曹興誠) yesterday said the Chinese Ministry of State Security was behind a smear campaign to suggest he had an extramarital affair, adding that Beijing is working through proxies to interfere in Taiwan’s elections and recall processes.
Tsao said he has come under attack since he spearheaded a recall movement to oust Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers, including leading a petition drive to recall KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯).
He wrote online that the Chinese government and the state security agency was circulating doctored images of him with a young woman and was collaborating with political commentator Hsieh Han-ping (謝寒冰) to accuse Tsao of having an extramarital affair in 2015, while working in China.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Tsao offered a NT$10 million (US$305,717) reward for anyone providing information leading to the arrest of leaders or organizers of the Chinese ministry’s networks and to crack down on their subversive activities in Taiwan.
He said someone from the US told him the Chinese agency planned the smear campaign, as the accusations and circulation of the image followed China’s “united front” tactics and propaganda strategies.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) has asked national security agencies to investigate the case.
DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said the Chinese government was seeking to interfere in Taiwan’s elections.
“Our society must establish strong defense mechanisms, to fight against these Chinese proxies and hostile forces, knowing their pro-China propaganda and tactics would escalate in scope and intensity. We urge people not to back down, but to stand up with courage and resolutely support Taiwan, to defend our democracy and freedom,” Wu said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
RSS