Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (
Since that time, he said, the ministry has had no business relations with the company.
Huang made the remarks while fielding questions from legislators at the legislature's Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Committee meeting.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Jih-chu (李紀珠) cited a story published in the Chinese-language China Times two weeks ago which said that President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) had revealed to prosecutors that he had paid for Presidential Office contracts with Cassidy & Associates using money from the special state affairs fund.
Lee asked Huang if he knew about the matter and, if so, who had paid the lobbying firm.
Huang did not answer Lee's question directly, saying only that the ministry signed contracts with 14 US public relation companies and all the expenses were allocated through the official budget, and came to about NT$100 million (about US$2.9 million).
"According to the US lobbying laws, PR firms have to display information on clients on their Web sites. Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has transparent relations with US PR firms," Huang said.
Since the ministry has paid for these PR expenses, Lee asked why the Presidential Office had to pay Cassidy & Associates' fees out of the Presidential Office expense fund.
In response, Huang said the ministry did not hire Cassidy & Associates and has never dealt with that PR firm.
He added that he could not make any comment on diplomatic affairs conducted through the Presidential Office.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
Taiwanese professional baseball should update sports stadiums and boost engagement to enhance fans’ experience, Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) in an interview on Friday. The league has urged Farglory Group and the Taipei City Government to improve the Taipei Dome’s outdated equipment, including relatively rudimentary television and sound systems, and poor technology, he said. The Tokyo Dome has markedly better television and sound systems, despite being 30 years old, because its managers continually upgraded its equipment, Tsai said. In contrast, the Taipei Dome lacked even a room for referees
RSS