Media personality Clara Chou (周玉蔻) yesterday gave her testimony and made more allegations as she went to the Special Investigation Division (SID) of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to provide evidence to back her accusation that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) had received a large sum of money as a political donation from the food-scandal-tainted Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團).
Accompanied by her lawyer, Chou brought files and documents to the session with the SID yesterday morning, which she said were evidence to present to Prosecutor Lin Cheng-tsung (林承宗), who is leading the investigation.
Chou told reporters that she has confidence in her evidence.
Photo: CNA
“All my statements are backed up by sources and secret witnesses,” she said.
While being interviewed by the media at her SID appearance, the radio host ignited more controversy by accusing Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) of leaking classified government material to Ting Hsin.
“When Ting Hsin was embroiled in the food scandal earlier this year, Wu applied to the Ministry of Health and Welfare for access to internal confidential reports. Later on, Wu leaked these classified government information and reports to Ting Hsin,” Chou said.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
The veteran media personality went on the offensive against Ma and KMT officials.
“The Ma administration, including Ma himself, the KMT caucus at the legislature and KMT legislators were obvious in their group effort to protect Ting Hsin and shield the company from prosecution,” she said.
After her session with the SID, Chou told reporters that she had offered to name her “secret witnesses” so that the SID could investigate the four major alleged cases of bribery and influence-peddling involving Ma, his officials and Ting Hsin.
“I have the sources, the witnesses and details of where they got the information. When they decide to investigate these cases, I will cooperate fully with SID prosecutors and reveal the names and all the evidence,” she said.
Chou has caused political turmoil in the past week by going public with allegations that Ma received NT$200 million (US$6.3 million) in an off-the-books political donation from Ting Hsin, citing witnesses and sources among former officials in the National Security Council.
Her accusations have severely tarnished Ma’s image, which prompted him on Thursday to vow to file a lawsuit, in an individual capacity, against Chou.
The case is in the evidence-gathering stage and there is no clear defendant as yet, SID Director Kuo Wen-tung (郭文東) said.
The SID is looking at Chou’s statements and her evidence to determine whether the case falls under the division’s jurisdiction, Kuo said, adding that if not, it would be transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
CIVIL DEFENSE: More reservists in alternative service would help establish a sound civil defense system for use in wartime and during natural disasters, Kuma Academy’s CEO said While a total of 120,000 reservists are expected to be called up for alternative reserve drills this year, compared with the 6,505 drilled last year, the number has been revised to 58,000 due to a postponed training date, Deputy Minster of the Interior Ma Shih-yuan (馬士元) said. In principle, the ministry still aims to call up 120,000 reservists for alternative reserve drills next year, he said, but the actual number would not be decided later until after this year’s evaluation. The increase follows a Legislative Yuan request that the Ministry of the Interior address low recruitment rates, which it made while reviewing
DETERRENCE: Along with US$500 million in military aid and up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees, the bill would allocate US$400 million to countering PRC influence The US House of Representatives on Friday approved an appropriations bill for fiscal year 2025 that includes US$500 million in military aid for Taiwan. The legislation, which authorizes funding for the US Department of State, US foreign operations and related programs for next year, passed 212-200 in the Republican-led House. The bill stipulates that the US would provide no less than US$500 million in foreign military financing for Taiwan to enhance deterrence across the Taiwan Strait, and offer Taipei up to US$2 billion in loans and loan guarantees for the same purpose. The funding would be made available under the US’ Foreign Military
WARNING: China has stepped up harassment of foreign vessels after its new regulation took effect last month, an official said, citing an incident in the Diaoyutai Islands The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday linked China’s seizure of a Taiwanese fishing vessel illegally operating in its territorial waters to Beijing’s new regulation authorizing the China Coast Guard to seize boats in waters it claims. Chinese officials boarded and then seized a Taiwanese fishing vessel operating near China’s coast close to Kinmen County late on Tuesday and took it to a Chinese port, the CGA said. The Penghu-registered squid fishing vessel Da Jin Man No. 88 (大進滿88) was boarded and seized by China Coast Guard east-northeast of Liaoluo Bay (料羅灣), 17.5 nautical miles (32.4km) from Taiwan’s restricted waters off Kinmen,
As eight basketball-playing international students appealed to the Taiwanese basketball industry after they were excluded from the draft of an upcoming new league merging the P.League+ and the T1 League, the new league’s preparatory committee spokesperson Chang Shu-jen (張樹人) yesterday said the committee would tomorrow discuss the supplementary measures and whether the international students can join the draft. The students on Tuesday called for support on their right to play in the upcoming new league, after a merger involving the two leagues impacted their eligibility for the draft. The international players from the University Basketball Association (UBA), led by first pick prospect