The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said yesterday that a pharmaceutical company linked to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had been fined for failing to avoid a conflict of interest when selling drugs to Taipei City Municipal Hospital.
Ma Yi-nan (馬以南) was deputy manager of China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co (中化, CCPC) at the time of the sale, while her brother Ma Ying-jeou was Taipei mayor.
“The China Chemical & Pharmaceutical Co was fined NT$140 million [US$4.1 million] for violating conflict of interest regulations,” Kuan Kao-yueh (管高岳), director of the Department of Government Employee Ethics, told a press conference.
Kuan said that the city government purchased more than NT$90 million in pharmaceuticals from CCPC and another NT$50 million from a CCPC subsidiary in 1998 — during Ma Ying-jeou’s term as mayor.
Citing the Public Officials’ Conflicts of Interests Prevention Act (公職人員利益衝突迴避法), Kuan said the city government should not have had any business deals with Ma Yi-nan’s company.
The act stipulates that companies found to be in violation be fined one to three times the purchase amount.
The accusation first surfaced last February during the presidential campaign when then-Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh’s (謝長廷) team accused Ma Ying-jeou of lying about his role in his sister’s business relations with Taipei City Municipal Hospital.
Hsieh’s campaign team said Ma Yi-nan had been granted sole distribution rights for drugs sold to the hospital.
At the time, Ma Ying-jeou denied the allegation, saying his sister was not involved in selling medicine to the hospital.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) said yesterday that the president respects the ministry’s decision.
The CCPC said it would appeal the case with the Executive Yuan.
Kuan also said that when Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) served as deputy minister of national defense in 2004, his younger brother Tsai Ming-shiung (蔡明訓) was board chairman of Air Asia, and that the air company obtained a number of procurement projects and military plane maintenance projects from the military worth a total of NT$4 billion.
The ministry fined Air Asia NT$4 billion for the violation, Kuan said.
Kuan said the ministry thinks the act is too strict, and is contemplating an amendment.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday he was “opposed to amending the law for Ma Ying-jeou’s sake.”
If an amendement is needed, it should make the law stricter, not more lenient, he said.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College