The Chung Hsing Bills Finance scandal, which derailed PFP Chairman James Soong's (宋楚瑜) previous presidential bid, is by no means dead and buried, TSU lawmakers said yesterday.
As Soong wraps up a deal with the KMT on the joint presidential ticket between the two parties, former president Lee Teng-hui (
The revelations will ruin Soong's political aspirations once and for all, the lawmakers predicted.
Yesterday's remarks came on the heals of a reminder by President Chen Shui-bian (
While prosecutors decided in 2001 that there was insufficient evidence to indict Soong, new evidence may come to light allowing the case to go forward.
Although the KMT has said that its accusations against Soong were all the result of a "misunderstanding," it is not up to the KMT alone to decide whether the case is open or closed.
The uproar surfaced in 1999 when the KMT pressed embezzlement and other criminal suits against Soong, saying he pocketed vast sums of party funds in his capacity as KMT secretary-general in the early 1990's.
After prosecutors decided not to indict Soong two years ago, two lawyers representing the KMT asked to reopen the case, noting that investigators passed over key evidence and witnesses during their year-long probe.
Soong has said the money he is alleged to have bilked the KMT of, which was found in his son's account in the KMT-owned Chung Hsing Bills Co, was put in his charge by then-president and party chairman Lee to carry out covert party missions. Lee has derided Soong's claim as an outright lie.
Seeking to defend Soong, PFP legislators interpreted Chen's comments yesterday as a veiled order for judicial officials to look unfavorably on Soong's alleged financial misdeeds.
PFP legislative leader Chiu Yi (邱毅) directed his rage at Chen, saying his Wednesday statement stemmed from a selfish desire to tarnish Soong's reputation in the run-up to next year's presidential polls.
"The decision not to indict stays valid unless prosecutors rule otherwise," Chiu said. "The president has no right to abuse his power by making remarks that may influence the investigation."
DPP legislative whip Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said that the matter, in light of its nature as a criminal case, is not something that can be privately settled between the parties involved -- Soong and the KMT.
Also See Story:
Editorial: Who are the real conspirators?
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
RSS