Government Information Office (GIO) Minister Pasuya Yao (姚文智) allegedly manipulated the electronic records of the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday in order to deny a story printed in the morning edition of the Chinese-language United Daily News.
The dispute between Yao and UDN senior political affairs reporter Lee Shun-te (李順德) arose after Lee's story ran in yesterday's paper, which alleged that Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) was very upset with Yao during last week's legislative meeting after Yao became angry and decided to leave the review meeting for next year's GIO budget, after Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) called him a pizi [ruffian,
Lee's story reported that Hsieh had expressed his unhappiness with Yao during the legislative meeting. The story quoted Hsieh as criticizing Yao for "showing off like a hero" and complaining that Yao's behavior would lead the GIO into monetary problems for next year.
The story also quoted Hsieh as telling Yao that Cabinet members are obliged to be questioned by lawmakers and attend legislative meetings, especially when budgets are being reviewed.
"You cannot simply leave just because you are unhappy. It is not right. This is not a one-man show," Hsieh said.
However, the story was denied outright by Yao and Cabinet Spokesman Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). Yao implied that Lee had made up the story.
"Are you happy with the story?" Yao asked Lee in front of a group of reporters in the GIO press room yesterday afternoon. "I am afraid that your story is inaccurate because what you said did not happen at all during the meeting."
Lee then told Yao that he had simply cut and pasted the paragraph from the meeting records, which were available from the GIO's Web site. Yao said that he had not seen anything like that on the Web site.
When Lee logged on the Web site and tried to retrieve the offending paragraph, he discovered that the paragraph had allegedly been changed.
The weekly Cabinet meeting record that Lee had quoted was the record for Nov. 16. The GIO usually makes the weekly Cabinet meeting records public a week after the date when the meetings are held.
The premier's complaints about Yao were not reported last week because Yao did not mention anything about them during the regular press conference after last week's meeting.
"I discovered the paragraph that Yao forgot to talk about during last week's press conference, so I decided to take it from the Web site and make a story with it," Lee said.
Yao did not make any further comments about the issue.
When approached by reporters, Cho said that the atmosphere inside the meeting was nothing like Lee had described.
"I remember the premier praising Yao for his heroism instead of complaining about him showing off," he said.
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS