Speaking on the second anniversary of Premier Vincent Siew's tenure, former justice minister Liao Cheng-hao (廖正豪) lashed out at what he said was a lack of achievements under Siew's Cabinet and vowed to boycott Siew's campaign to run as vice-president.
He also suggested Siew had been involved in pressuring the justice ministry into illegal phone taps and other skullduggery while he was justice minister.
"The KMT had plenty of opportunities to enforce a reform program [in the past two years], but when Vice President Lien Chan (
As the Lien-Siew ticket was finalized during the KMT congress last weekend, Liao flew to Japan on Aug. 27, missing the party congress altogether.
But yesterday, just one day after returning, Liao spent over an hour venting his discontent over Siew's running with Lien.
Liao said that in early August he even wrote a letter to Lien, outlining his concerns of Siew's candidacy.
"The vice presidency is a very important position, so I asked Lien to consider all the consequences. With Siew in the line-up, I can't see any way to push government reforms,'' said Liao.
Liao emphasized that his criticism was not based on personal interests, but on the principles of right and wrong.
"The drop in support for Lien in opinion polls since the announcement of the Lien-Siew ticket just proves that my concerns are valid,'' Liao said.
He also suggested Siew was involved in recent illegal wiretapping by the government and is associated with organized crime.
In an apparent reference to Siew, he said "someone" not only forced him to authorize an illegal wiretap while serving as justice minister, "but also falsely accused me of wiretapping, reporting this to my superior," he said.
"I will consider making the details public at the appropriate time before next March," he added.
He also pointed out that Siew had recently appeared together in Siew's home county of Chiayi along with the speaker of the Chiayi City Council, Hsiao Teng-wang (蕭登旺). Hsiao's younger brother, Hsiao Teng-piao (蕭登標), the speaker of Chiayi County Council, is currently under indictment on corruption charges and on the run from police. Ever since Siew appeared with the "Hsiao Family," speculation has abounded over his relations with the family.
Premier Siew dismissed such allegations as unfair.
"I am a native of Chiayi. How could I turn the `Hsiao family' down when they have stood behind me before? Besides, I have no contact with them now. I have no doubts about my moral integrity," he said.
Facing increasing resistance over Siew from former subordinates, Lien said yesterday: "Every day I have many things to deal with. I can't answer everyone's questions."
KMT lawmaker Chen Ming-wen (
"Since Liao stepped down from office last year, the government has turned a deaf ear to him, making Chiayi residents very disappointed," he said.
Chen added that if Liao continued to point the finger at Siew, it would eventually hurt the popularity of the Lien-Siew ticket.
"Liao's elder bother is a town chief, and his uncle is the executive director of the farmer's cooperative. Both are local opinion leaders with a major influence on local residents," said Chen.
"Liao still enjoys a public image as a `hero of crime crackdowns.' Every word he says could easily become a headline story," he added.
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
CONSISTENT COMMITMENT: The American Institute in Taiwan director said that the US would expand investment and trade relationships to make both nations more prosperous The US would not abandon its commitment to Taiwan, and would make Taiwan safer, stronger and more prosperous, American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said. “The US’ commitment to Taiwan has been consistent over many administrations and over many years, and we will not abandon our commitment to Taiwan, including our opposition to any attempt to use force or coercion to change Taiwan’s status,” he said in an exclusive interview with the Liberty Times (the sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) on Friday last week, which was published in the Chinese-language newspaper yesterday. The US would double down on its efforts
RSS