A government auditor yesterday lost his temper as legislators peppered him with questions implying that the government watchdog hadn't probed Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (馬英九) special allowance expenditures in the same way it had with President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) slush fund.
"If I tell the whole truth [about the auditing of Chen's slush fund], it will put you on the spot," Ministry of Audit spokesman Wang Yung-hsing (王永興) said to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Wang Shi-cheng (王世堅).
Wang Yung-hsiung made the remarks at a conference hosted by a group of DPP legislators to question audit officials over the criteria used to probe Chen's and Ma's handling of funds.
Auditors concluded that there may have been irregularities in Chen's slush fund, as the Presidential Office had refused to present them with all receipts for reimbursements from the fund for reasons of confidentiality. Ma, however, passed muster, with auditors saying that half of his special expenditures could be reimbursed without the need for receipts.
Wang Shi-cheng yesterday accused auditors of "turning a blind eye" to irregularities in Ma's expenditures.
"You should not indulge Ma," the legislator said.
"Don't mess with me just because you are a legislator. I don't accept your insult," Wang Yung-hsing told the legislator.
The allegation that Chen had embezzled money from the slush fund has been under investigation by prosecutors with the Black Gold Investigation Bureau.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-ching (
"Don't make remarks that leave room for people to speculate that the president has done something illegal," Yeh said to Wang Yung-hsing.
After the conference, the spokesman told DPP legislators and the media that his emotions had been "out of control" and that he wished he could be forgiven.
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