The TSU's Central Executive Committee, the party's highest decision-making body, yesterday decided to expel TSU Legislator Su Yin-kuei (
The decision to expel Su was made at the end of a three-hour meeting of the committee, which involved extensive discussion as well as a face-to-face debate between Su and Lo, said TSU Legislator Chien Lin Whei-jun (
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Su, a former lawyer, last Thursday accused Lo of involvement in illegal lobbying of judicial and police authorities on behalf of video arcade owners in Kaohsiung City. Lo denied Su's accusations, saying he was innocent of any illegal lobbying.
"After the confrontation [between the two] as well as a party investigation of the evidence provided by Su, the committee concluded that the grounds for Su's charge against Lo were insufficient," said Chien Lin at a press conference held after the committee meeting.
Before the meeting, the TSU legislative caucus yesterday morning had suggested Su's party membership be suspended.
"The committee used such harsh discipline against Su in order to provide justice for Lo," said Chien Lin.
According to Chien Lin, Su had incorporated material in his evidence of Lo's alleged wrongdoing which was designed to mislead.
"The issue addressed in Su's document was about patent cases which Lo had previously handled in response to individuals' requests," said Chien Lin.
"[The documents offered by Su] had nothing to do with the video arcade case that was the basis of his allegations against Lo," she said.
"As a lawyer, Su knew that he could not make such serious accusations without first verifying the available evidence," said Chien Lin, adding that Su had refused to apologize despite the discrepancy between his claims about the documents and their true nature being pointed out to him during the meeting.
Expressing regret over the party's decision to expel Su, TSU Secretary-General Lin Jih-jia (
"It is understandable that ... the party would encounter some unavoidable setbacks in the course of its growth," Lin said. "Su's personal conduct nonetheless has seriously damaged the party's image."
A young party, formed in 2001, and holding only 13 seats in the Legislative Yuan, the TSU is planning on celebrating its second anniversary on Saturday.
Lo expressed his gratitude toward the party for restoring his good name and reputation.
"I appreciate the effort the party authorities took in defending my innocence. Nevertheless it is regrettable that Su has been expelled from the party," Lo said at a news conference yesterday afternoon.
Saying that Su was an outstanding lawyer and had been a fine comrade, Lo said he hoped society as a whole would give Su an opportunity to continue to serve it.
While Su was unavailable for immediate comments after the party's decision to expel him, he had said prior to the committee meeting yesterday: "I care only for the truth and not whether the party will expel me or not."
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS