A panel of legislators who are probing alleged corruption by fellow lawmakers regarding sloppy construction work at the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant yesterday demanded that the accused allow them to look into their bank accounts to clear up the case.
Insisting that they are innocent, the three DPP lawmakers -- Liang Mu-yang (
But they reiterated their plea that their accusers must resign as lawmakers if their charges prove to be false.
The ad-hoc committee met yesterday for the first time after its formation earlier this month and suggested that the trio sign an affidavit allowing the panelists to look into their bank accounts.
PFP lawmaker Chou Hsi-wei (
The controversy surfaced in mid-June when TSU Legislator Su Ying-kwei (
Su said he had evidence, provided by China Shipbuilding Corp (
The allegations were immediately corroborated by PFP Legislator Chiu Yi (
Liang, who has blasted the charge as baseless, said he welcomed the probe.
"I hope that this time the [legislature's] disciplinary committee can reverse its past image of being ineffective," he said. "For my part, I would try my best to cooperate."
Likewise, Huang Ying-chi (
"The panel may go ahead and suggest the information it needs and I will accommodate their requests to the best of my abilities," Huang said. "I only hope the matter can end as soon as possible."
Both called for the banning of their accusers if the investigation proves their innocence.
The ad hoc committee -- comprised of members from across party lines -- is slated to go to Kaohsiung next Tuesday to gather evidence and discuss the case again on July 4.
Seeking to ensure fairness, panelists also urged Su and Chiu to produce evidence to substantiate their accusations.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
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The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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