The Taipei District Prosecutors' Office appears set to begin summoning officials from the finance ministry today for questioning over allegations of financial impropriety against independent presidential candidate James Soong (
The prosecutors' office is also likely to summon Soong himself, as well as his financial advisor, Chen Pi-yun (
KMT legislator Yang Chi-hsiung (
Yang has filed charges of tax evasion against Soong.
The case against Soong involves funds totalling more than NT$1 billion that were deposited in accounts belonging to his relatives, including his son, sister-in-law and her son, which Soong has since claimed were intended to be used to care for relatives of the late president Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) as well as "party business."
Officials at the prosecutors' office said they had decided to begin the interrogatory sessions rather than waiting for further documents from the finance ministry.
The prosecutors' office will ask the ministry to supply additional information to clarify some points in its report.
The finance ministry has submitted a report on the Soong scandal to the prosecutors' office, but it does not include certain key evidence, including information on the seal Soong used for the "KMT secretary-general's account" he opened privately in the early 1990s.
At KMT headquarters, meanwhile, officials continued to attack Soong yesterday, saying he still has not clarified the origin and final destination of funds in the KMT secretary-general's account. The officials also asked him to disclose exactly how much money he actually remitted to the US between October and November, 1998, during the timethe provincial government was downsized.
Meanwhile, reports continues to emerge about so-called "donors" to party political funds.
The Chinese-language press reported yesterday that in December 1992, in the run up to the legislative elections, Soong received a check for NT$30 million without a designated payee from the local construction tycoon Liang Po-hsun (
Soong immediately put the donation into his KMT secretary-general's account, the report said.
The money was withdrawn from that account in early 1993 and used to buy securities at the Chunghsing Bills Finance Corp, the report said.
As the amount of Liang's donation was ten times the legal ceiling for corporate donations to political parties, investigative authorities are probing possible tax evasion and misappropriation by Soong, the report said.
Taiwan moved clear of Mexico to be the only country at No. 2 in the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men’s Baseball World Rankings. Meanwhile, draft bills to set up a ministry of sports were approved at a joint session at the legislature in Taipei yesterday. After previously being tied with Mexico for second on 4,118 points, Taiwan moved clear on 5,498 points after they defeated Japan in the final of the WBSC Premier12 tournament on Sunday. Mexico (4,729) dropped to fourth, behind Venezuela (4,846), who finished fourth at the tournament. Taiwan narrowed the gap to first-placed Japan to 1,368 points from 1,638, WBSC
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday declared emergency martial law, accusing the opposition of being “anti-state forces intent on overthrowing the regime” amid parliamentary wrangling over a budget bill. “To safeguard a liberal South Korea from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and to eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness, I hereby declare emergency martial law,” Yoon said in a live televised address to the nation. “With no regard for the livelihoods of the people, the opposition party has paralysed governance solely for the sake of impeachments, special investigations, and shielding their leader from justice,” he
GLOBAL SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the motion highlighted the improper exclusion of Taiwan from international discussion and cooperative mechanisms Taiwan yesterday thanked the British parliament for passing a motion stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, making it the latest body to reject China’s interpretation of the resolution. The House of Commons on Thursday debated the international status of Taiwan and unanimously passed a pro-Taiwan motion stating that the House “notes that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan or establish PRC [People’s Republic of China] sovereignty over Taiwan and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the UN and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies.” British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Parliamentary
HIGH ALERT: The armed forces are watching for a potential military drill by China in response to the president’s trip, with the air force yesterday conducting an exercise President William Lai (賴清德) is to make stopovers in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam during his seven-day trip to the South Pacific, his first official visit since taking office in May, the Presidential Office said yesterday. Lai, accompanied by a delegation, is scheduled to depart for the South Pacific on a chartered flight at 4:30pm tomorrow, stopping first in Hawaii for a two-night layover before traveling to the Marshall Islands, an office official said. After wrapping up his visits to the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, the president is to transit through Guam, spending a night there before flying to Palau,
RSS