Speculation of vote-buying in the Democratic Progressive Party's (DPP) legislative primary was rife yesterday, with Zanadau majority shareholder Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍) accusing Sunny Bank chairwoman Hsueh Ling (薛凌) of involvement in election bribery.
Su said she had proof that Hsueh extended loans to a fellow DPP lawmaker in exchange for party members' vote in the primary elections.
Su, a former DPP member, said she had helped buy votes for Hsueh's husband, DPP Legislator Chen Sheng-hung (陳勝宏), three years ago and that this time the couple had used the same method of granting excess loans as a bribe.
Su accused Hsueh of breach of trust for extending excess loans amounting to hundreds of millions of NT dollars through Sunny Bank to DPP Legislator Lin Chin-hsing (
Lin sold the house back to Sunny Bank in 2002. Su said Lin also charged the bank an amount of rent that was unreasonable.
"Is that the way Hsueh said she has been providing service to her supporters?
How does this enable her to get the top place on the legislator-at-large candidates list?" Su said.
She said she was prompted to disclose Hsueh's vote-buying behavior because Hsueh, Chen and Lin recently called a press conference to dismiss any rumors of involvement in vote-buying.
"They should have felt ashamed of themselves. They put on a huge press conference fanfare to deliver their false arguments. That's just way too arrogant!" Su said.
In response to Su's accusations, DPP headquarters said that any accusation should be based on facts, and the party could only start the investigation once written documents detailing evidence of the fraud were presented.
Su said she would hand in the documents, consisting of records of excess loans between Lin and Sunny Bank, this morning.
Meanwhile, Su yesterday said she would request DPP headquarters to grant secret witness rights to party members who would testify against Hsueh under the condition of anonymity and exemption from party discipline.
Both Hsueh and Lin yesterday refuted Su's allegations. Lin said he did not take loans from Sunny Bank, while Hsueh said the accusation was merely Su retaliating about an election dispute three years ago.
Cabinet
Meanwhile, the Cabinet is considering letting the Central Election Commission (CEC) hold primaries for political parties in a bid to curb vote-buying, Premier Yu Shyi-kun announced yesterday.
"It doesn't sound like a bad idea to have an independent government entity handle the matter impartially and fairly," Yu said.
Yu made the remark yesterday afternoon in response to one of the questions filed by the media during a question-and-answer session at a government tea party.
According to Yu, the Ministry of the Interior and the commission have been working on amending existing laws to authorize the commission to hold primaries.
Yu also pledged to solicit opinions from all stakeholders before the Cabinet makes a final decision.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at