The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled in favor of Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng’s (王金平) provisional injunction seeking to retain his Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) membership and position as head of the legislature.
The court ruled that Wang would be able to retain his membership and rights as a KMT member after submitting a guarantee of about NT$9.38 million (US$314,300), Taipei District Court spokesperson Lai Chien-yi (賴劍毅) told reporters.
The guarantee was calculated based on Wang’s monthly salary and the remainder of his current term of about two-and-a-half years, Lai said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The ruling was considered a victory for Wang in his battle with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to keep his political power.
‘ILLEGAL LOBBYING’
The 72-year-old senior politician, who has been accused of being involved in illegal lobbying of the judiciary, had his KMT membership revoked on Wednesday, which the party said should invalidate his status as a KMT legislator-at-large and as legislative speaker.
Wang decided to take the matter to court after the KMT failed to grant him a 20-day appeal period and immediately notified the Central Election Commission (CEC) about Wang’s party membership being revoked.
The court rejected the KMT’s offer of a counter guarantee in its challenge to Wang’s claim, Lai said.
Wang’s injunction was accepted because his loss of position as legislative speaker and a legislator-at-large would be irreversible if the injunction was rejected, Lai said, adding that Wang’s membership would not be affected before another civil lawsuit that Wang had filed said otherwise.
An additional temporary restraining order filed by the Wang camp late on Thursday night, which argued that Wang should retain his position as speaker, was dismissed, the spokesperson said.
Wang’s lawyer, Hsu Ying-chieh (許英傑), told reporters that the ruling was “a complete victory” in terms of the provisional injunction, despite dismissal of the restraining order.
“We are glad the judges have made a critical decision in this historic case,” Hsu said.
The lawyer said the court’s upholding of Wang’s claim was crucial because the KMT’s decision was a revocation of his party membership rather than as a lawmaker or speaker.
“As the revocation of Wang’s party membership was invalidated, the KMT’s moves after the revocation have been nullified as well, which means the CEC’s notification to void Wang’s speaker position was ineffective,” Hsu said.
Chen Ming (陳明), the KMT’s lawyer, told reporters that his client planned to file an appeal within 10 days.
Chen claimed that Wang was disqualified as a KMT legislator-at-large and as legislative speaker immediately after his party membership was revoked.
At around 9:30pm last night, Wang delivered a short statement calling for unity within the party “under the leadership of President Ma Ying-jeou” to work together to meet shared challenges.
Wang reiterated that he will be a KMT member “forever and ever.”
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
‘DETERRENT’: US national security adviser-designate Mike Waltz said that he wants to speed up deliveries of weapons purchased by Taiwan to deter threats from China US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, affirmed his commitment to peace in the Taiwan Strait during his confirmation hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Hegseth called China “the most comprehensive and serious challenge to US national security” and said that he would aim to limit Beijing’s expansion in the Indo-Pacific region, Voice of America reported. He would also adhere to long-standing policies to prevent miscalculations, Hegseth added. The US Senate Armed Services Committee hearing was the first for a nominee of Trump’s incoming Cabinet, and questions mostly focused on whether he was fit for the
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS