President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended the legitimacy of his private interactions with Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), at the center of a wiretapping incident, and said he is willing to go to court to dismiss allegations that he was giving instructions to Huang on how to handle the incident.
In an interview with News 98 radio show host Clara Chou (周玉蔻), Ma confirmed that Huang met with him on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 at the presidential residence to report on the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division’s (SID) probe into alleged improper lobbying by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) on behalf of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘). He said he had also telephoned Huang several times between Sept. 6 and Friday last week.
The telephone calls were made to ask Huang to clarify public allegations and questions, including recent claims that the SID had been illegally monitoring telephone lines at the legislature, Ma said.
Photo: CNA
“I have not given any instructions to any probes. The SID is part of the government as a whole and when doubts are raised about any of the government’s work, I have always asked government agencies for explanations,” he said.
When asked whether his meetings and telephone conversations with Huang had intervened in the ongoing probe, Ma insisted that the SID’s probe into Wang’s alleged involvement in undue lobbying was an investigation of administrative wrongdoing, rather than a criminal case where confidentiality is required.
Ma said he would cooperate with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office should they summon him as a witness in a probe of Huang’s monitoring of the legislature’s switchboard, but adding that he would not make public his telephone conversations with Huang.
“I am willing to cooperate with the prosecutors’ investigation in any way [including a confrontation with Huang],” he said.
It has been reported that the prosecutors’ office contacted the Presidential Office to ask when Ma would be available, and whether an interview could be conducted at the prosecutors’ office or at Ma’s residence.
The conversations between Ma and Huang were revealed by Huang on Sept. 9 at a press conference.
He said he had gone to Ma’s residence to report on Wang’s involvement in the case on Aug. 31, which was before the investigation had been completed.
He later told a legislative session on Sept. 25 that Ma had asked him to visit his residence again on Sept. 1.
Huang also confirmed that Ma had telephoned him after the Sept. 6 press conference, sparking concerns about Ma’s role in the case.
Ma said he held a meeting with then-deputy secretary-general of the Presidential Office Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) and Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) to discuss the issue on Aug. 31 after Huang took the initiative to report the results of the probe to him. He asked Huang to explain the case further the next day.
Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and Ma’s top aide, Representative to the US King Pu-tsung (金溥聰), learned about the case after the SID press conference on Sept. 6, Ma said.
He shrugged off concerns about the motivation behind Huang’s disclosure of the private meetings. He said he would respect the results of the inquiry into Huang’s involvement in wiretapping when asked whether Huang should step down and take responsibility for the incident.
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
RSS