Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators yesterday raised the possibility that staff at Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou's (
Last Wednesday Ma said the controversy surrounding his special mayoral allowance was the result of an "administrative defect" by Taipei City Government staffer Yu Wen (余文), who substituted receipts for smaller amounts with personal receipts for larger amounts.
DPP Legislator Hsu Kuo-yung (
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (
Ma should ask Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (
In response, the city government's Secretariat Director Lee Sush-der(
Lee, meanwhile, admitted that the person who gave Kuan the mayor's cash remittance note of NT$15 million (US$455,580) to charity groups last Friday was a member of the Tsai Jui-yueh Dance Foundation.
The individual's behavior was a violation of personal privacy and an insult, said Lee.
But it was up to the mayor whether to sue the individual, Lee added.
Lee added that the city government would not make public the details of Ma's donation, referring to Ma's announcement on Friday night that he would donate the portion of his special allowance fund received over the past eight years to charity.
Kuan, meanwhile, yesterday also accused the city government of forcing Felix Chen (陳秋盛), a former resident conductor and director of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, to retire without further investigation into alleged forgery charges that were brought against him three years ago.
Chen, who was present at yesterday's press conference, said the city government also forced him to copy a retirement report drafted by the city's Department of Cultural Affairs, adding that Ma did not deal with his petition.
In response, Lee said Chen's case was referred to judicial investigation after the city government conducted an internal investigation.
Ma also asked the government to handle the case in accordance with government regulations after Chen pleaded with him, Lee said, adding "it is a personal problem. It has nothing to do with the mayor."
Director of the Cultural Affairs Department Commissioner Sebastian Liao (
Chen was asked to write a retirement report because the department wanted to prevent the public from thinking there was anything untoward about the case, since he had not reached retirement age, Liao added.
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