Former Legislative Speaker Liu Sung-pan (劉松藩), who until recently was the nation's most senior legislator with 10 terms in office, resigned both his seat and his People First Party (PFP) membership after he was sentenced to four years in prison for corruption last week.
But Liu made the decision the withdraw from political life while in the US to observe the Republican convention, and some of questioned whether Liu, 72, would return to the country to serve his sentence.
TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO
In 1998, during his tenure as legislative speaker, Liu used his status as the former chairman of Taichung Business Bank to broker a NT$1.5 billion loan to the Kuangsan Group, and in return he received a kickback of NT$150 million.
He was sentenced to four years in prison for breach of trust and given a NT$30 million fine -- a sentence that cannot be appealed.
Liu's downfall coincided with that of Yunlin Country Commissioner Chang Jung-wei (張榮味), who was sentenced to 12 months for vote-buying but has also fled the country.
Liu has been described by his allies as a sophisticated politician who has a deep insight into current affairs. But his detractors are not hesitant to point out that like many old-style Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) politicians, Liu was deeply submerged in the culture of "black gold" politics.
"He was a traditional KMT politician. He fell the way he prospered," said DPP Legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌). Hong is a veteran legislator in his fifth term and witnessed Liu during his prime years in the legislature.
"He was not someone with a leadership style of his own. He was like most other KMT politicians, carrying out the party's orders faithfully," Hong said of Liu's term as legislative speaker.
After years as a heavyweight in the KMT, Liu drifted away from his party amid a difference of opinion with former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) over Lee's intention to freeze the Taiwan Provincial Government to diminish James Soong's (宋楚瑜), influence as then government chairman.
Liu's support for Soong angered the former president, and although Liu later succeeded in persuading Soong not to oppose to Lee's move, in 1999, Lee decided to replace Liu as legislative speaker with his deputy, Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).
Liu left the KMT when Soong broke away from the party and established the PFP and ran in the 200 presidential election. Liu was an integral force in helping Soong establish the fledgling party.
During his time in the legislature, Liu was a member of the powerful "13 Brothers Fraternity" (十三兄弟會), of which Wang, his deputy speaker, was also a member.
But like the Kuangsan case, the fraternity dissolved after its founder, former legislator and chairman of the Tenth Credit Cooperative (十信) Tsai Chen-chou (蔡辰洲) was found guilty of embezzlement in 1985 and sentenced to a lengthy prison term.
Although Liu and Wang almost parted ways over the speakership job, Wang retained a sense of respect for Liu and spoke well of him even after Liu's sentence.
"Liu was a very experienced legislator. He is an astute political observer who makes excellent decisions," Wang said.
"As the legislative speaker, Liu engaged in many reforms, including the amendment to the five fundamental laws for the Legislative Yuan. He also set up the interparty negotiation mechanism and improved legislative efficiency," Wang said.
PFP caucus whip Liu Wen-hsiung (劉文雄) described Liu Sung-pan as someone who valued friendships and bonds between people, said he admired his courage in leaving the KMT and helping establish the PFP at a time when the public was not friendly toward breakaway politicians.
‘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
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS