Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members yesterday provided futher evidence in support of allegations that Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) hired a family member who was allegedly involved in the Lin Yi-shih (林益世) scandal to handle his political donations.
Hau Ying-chiao (郝英嬌), Wu’s sister-in-law, was in charge of his campaign finances and political donations in 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2004, DPP Legislator Chao Tien-lin (趙天麟) and DPP Central Executive Committee member Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) said on Sunday and yesterday via Facebook messages.
Hau has reportedly been in close contact with Wu Men-chung (吳門忠), a Nantou-based supporter of Wu Den-yih who allegedly admitted receiving a NT$10 million (US$330,000) kickback in the Lin scandal. Hau allegedly called Wu Men-chung to say a report in the Chinese-language Next magazine had linked him and Wu Den-yih.
Wu Den-yih has spent the past week clarifying — with conflicting explanations — the report that hinted at his possible role in the Lin scandal.
The former premier, who has vehemently denied his involvement in the Lin scandal, first said Hau was a housewife who did not handle political affairs, but later admitted that she helped with campaign finances in 1994 and 1998, adding that it was natural for family members to help out with campaign affairs.
Chao said that Hau’s handling of political donations and campaign finances was neither illegal nor immoral, but asked why Wu Den-yih “had to lie about it.”
While there was no evidence that part of Wu Men-chung’s kickback had been transferred to Hau or the vice president, Chao said that the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office should probe Hau’s role in the scandal and records of Wu Den-yih’s political donations.
Meanwhile, former DPP -Kaohsiung city councilor Huang Chao-hsing (黃昭星), accused Wu Den-yih of illegally hiring his sister-in-law, Huang A-hsueh (黃阿雪) in the Kaohsiung City Government.
Wu Den-yih, who served as Kaohsiung mayor from 1990 to 1998, said yesterday that the hiring was legal.
In reponse to reporters’ questions, DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the party would not speculate on whether Wu Den-yih was involved in the Lin scandal, but said that the vice president “has not been telling the truth to the public.”
“Honesty is the best policy. Wu [Den-yih] is responsible and obligated to offer a clear explanation to the people,” Lin said, urging the SID to open an investigation.
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS