Pan-blue-camp lawmakers and academics accused the government yesterday of doctoring financial reports and embezzling public assets, claiming the country is "almost broke" as a result of rampant corruption and mismanagement.
People First Party Legislator Liu Yi-ju (劉憶如) told a meeting for the legislature and government officials that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government used six tricks to make false financial statements over the past six years.
He said it had exaggerated tax revenues, fabricated income from selling government-owned shares in state enterprises, wasted public money, doctored accounting items, made complicated reinvestments to evade legislative auditing and hid key information and then endorsed this behavior.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
She quoted international rating agencies as claiming that Taiwan's financial rankings dropped to 79th in the world -- and that government debt was running at NT$11 trillion (US$337.5 billion) or 110 percent of GDP, as opposed to the government's claims of 39 percent.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was not telling the truth when he said Taiwan could afford to borrow "twice as much" as it has, the lawmaker said.
The meeting was held to review an opposition-initiated motion to recall the president. DPP lawmakers and most government officials boycotted the meeting.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) said NT$4.61 trillion in public assets had been improperly removed through merging state-owned banks with private holding companies, BOT projects, privatization of state-owned businesses and "sheer waste" by government departments.
People First Party Legislator Liu Wen-hsiung (
The signs were a reference to the president's decision to bypass the legislature in rebutting opposition charges.
Yesterday's legislative committee meeting was second in a series of four before the legislature votes on the recall motion next Tuesday.
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
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious