Amid the latest political storm over the alleged illegal lobbying for a lawsuit involving Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday urged Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) to return to Taiwan immediately and explain his alleged involvement in the incident.
“[The incident] will damage the credibility of the judicial system and at the same time hurt the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) image … I hope Speaker Wang can return to Taiwan and explain the issue to the public as soon as possible,” Ma, who doubles as KMT chairman, said after casting his vote for the KMT’s Central Standing Committee election at the Taipei City Council.
Accompanied by a group of KMT Taipei City councilors, Ma said he has instructed KMT Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan (曾永權) to contact Wang and ask him to clarify the issue as soon as possible.
Photo: CNA
Wang is in Malaysia on a family vacation. According to his assistant, Wang will not return to Taiwan any time soon because he is hosting his second daughter’s wedding today.
The assistant added that Wang has already heard the news about the alleged Ker-case lobbying from his office, but decided to refrain from commenting on the case.
Wang is scheduled to return on Tuesday, the assistant added.
Meanwhile, Ma yesterday also defended his decision to accept the resignation of former Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫) on Friday night over accusations that he had abused his power to stop a prosecutor from appealing Ker’s case with the Supreme Court.
“As the general public has questions about the case, Tseng can no longer carry out his duty as the justice minister under such circumstances,” Ma said.
Tseng, who had originally refused to step down, while insisting on his innocence, announced his resignation late on Friday night after meeting with Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) twice earlier in the day.
Jiang yesterday dismissed the idea that Ma had forced Tseng’s resignation and said Tseng was defending his innocence during their private meetings.
“We both agree that he, as the top official in the judicial system, should hold his own performance to higher standards,” Jiang said.
Jiang said Tseng agreed to take “political responsibility” for the allegations and that his resignation did not mean that he admitted any involvement in illegal lobbying.
“We had a peaceful and rational discussion yesterday, and he was not forced to step down,” Jiang said.
Politicians in the pan-blue camp yesterday expressed concern about the incident and urged the Ma administration to handle it carefully.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) said the incident involves administrative, legislative and judicial issues, and such a constitutional matter should be addressed carefully.
Former Taipei EasyCard Corp (悠遊卡公司) chairman Sean Lien (連勝文) expressed concern about the Special Investigation Division’s (SID) eavesdropping on Ker and Wang, but refrained from commenting further on the case.
Lien’s father, former KMT chairman Lien Chan (連戰), also showed up at the Taipei City Council to cast his vote, but declined to comment on the incident.
Meanwhile, conspiracy theories have been fueling the rumor mill, with KMT Legislator Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) saying that he saw the incident as “sheer infighting” in the government’s judiciary system between Tseng and Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), who led the SID, while others said it was an internal struggle in the Ma administration — infighting between Ma and Wang.
Wang does not have a position within the KMT, but as legislative speaker and a key figure in the party’s localization factions, he has great influence in the party.
Wang also represents the KMT’s old power bloc, along with party heavyweights including Lien Chan and former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄), and has had problematic relations with Ma in the wake of fierce competition over the KMT chairmanship in 2005.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and staff writer
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
COUNTERING THE PLA: While the US should reinforce its relations with partners and allies, Taiwan must invest in strengthening its defenses as well, Phillip Davidson said If influence in the Indo-Pacific region is one of the US’ core interests, then Taiwan serves as a cornerstone of US economic and security influence in the region, former US Indo-Pacific Command commander admiral Phillip Davidson said on Thursday. “China’s ... strategy is to supplant the US leadership role in the international order ... and they’ve long said ... that they intend to do that by 2050,” Davidson told the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in Washington. Davidson said he had previously told US Senate hearings on China’s military activities and possible threats in the Indo-Pacific region that a Chinese invasion of
RSS