The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is feigning ignorance of its members’ wrongdoing by demanding an investigation into the judiciary over allegations of signature fraud in its campaign to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, DPP Legislator Chuang Jui-hsiung (莊瑞雄) said yesterday.
“KMT officials have accused the judiciary of unfairly targeting the party so as to shift the focus away from signature forgery cases in its recall petition drive. The KMT is trying to mislead the public and framing it as the ruling party’s political manipulation of the judiciary,” Chuang said.
Preliminary investigations by judicial authorities have found many cases of alleged forgery, signature fraud, and instances of one individual signing for many people in the KMT’s effort to recall DPP legislators, Chuang said when questioning Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙).
Photo: Taipei Times
“KMT members are being lazy. Instead of doing real work out on the street asking people to sign the recall petition, they copied names from lists of party members, which even include members who are deceased,” he said.
“KMT leaders should take responsibility for the forgeries and other breaches of the law in the recall drive, but they instead demand that President William Lai (賴清德) step down over the judicial investigation into these cases. They are talking like deranged people, as it was not Lai who instructed KMT members to commit fraud and forge signatures,” Chuang said.
Separately, Taiwan Forever Society director Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎) also called out the hypocrisy of KMT leaders in calling for supporters to attend a rally on Saturday to protest against the DPP government, which the KMT has even titled: “Oppose Green Communists, Fight Dictatorship.”
“KMT officials are insulting everyone by saying Taiwan is now a dictatorship, but the rest of the world knows that the true dictatorship is in China. The KMT dare not criticize China and it is afraid of urging people to fight Chinese dictatorship,” Huang said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man