Executive Yuan Spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) yesterday rebutted a report that Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) has criminal connections, but confirmed that Wu took a trip with a group that included a paroled former gangster.
“It is true that the premier went to Bali [in Indonesia] with a number of people who care about the development of [Nantou County] during his legislative term last year,” Su said at the Executive Yuan.
“Members of the group might have included an ex-offender who has been rehabilitated, as alleged by the media, but there is no need for people to overinterpret [this],” Su said.
Su was responding to a story published in the issue of the Chinese-language Next Magazine that hit shelves yesterday. The story claims that Wu, his wife Tsai Ling-yi (蔡令怡), Nantou County Commissioner Lee Chao-ching (李朝卿) and Chiang Chin-liang (江欽良) — a former gangster on parole — visited the Indonesian island of Bali on Dec. 18 last year.
The story said Chiang was a powerful gangster in central Taiwan who has been involved in several cases of extortion and shootings.
“As a person with more than 30 years of experience in politics, how [Wu] handles his relationship [with Chiang] could withstand any measure of public scrutiny,” Su said.
Wu said yesterday that Chiang had repented and dedicated himself to charity work over the past decade, urging the public not to ostracize him.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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