Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) yesterday reiterated the party’s determination to fight corruption and urged party members not to gloat over the money-laundering allegations against former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁).
Speaking at a KMT Central Standing Committee meeting, Wu asked the central policy committee and party caucus to push for a law on unclear sources of property and seek an amendment to the Statute for the Punishment of Corruption (貪污治罪條例) in the next legislative session, which starts next month.
“We will not take pleasure in Chen Shui-bian’s case. Instead, we, and all politicians, should learn the lesson from the incident that no one can hide the truth forever,” Wu said yesterday at KMT headquarters.
PHOTO: HUANG CHI-YUAN, TAIPEI TIMES
Director of the KMT’s policy committee Lin Yi-shih (林益世) will communicate with the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial Yuan on establishing the regulations, the committee decided.
KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said yesterday that the caucus would propose the regulations in the legislature as soon as the new session begins.
KMT Legislator John Wu (吳志揚), the son of Wu Poh-hsiung, initiated a similar proposal last spring, suggesting that any official who failed to explain how he or she managed to accumulate large amounts of wealth should face up to three years in prison and a fine of up to NT$10 million (US$318,000).
The bill went to a preliminary review by the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee on May 29, but did not clear the legislative floor before the legislature went into recess last month.
The KMT chairman also rebutted allegations that some KMT members felt that President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration had handled the case involving Chen too slowly. The party will spare no effort in assisting the government with investigating Chen’s case, Wu Poh-hsiung said, and will work for clean government.
“No matter how embarrassing or despicable the truth is, we need to face it with courage ... People will no longer trust the government if we fail to investigate this case thoroughly, and it will shake the nation to its roots,” Wu Poh-hsiung said.
Meanwhile, in related news, the Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday said it formed a task force to probe the allegations that Chen laundered campaign funds. The task force will look into whether Chen violated any laws by not declaring campaign funds in full and whether the CEC had any authority to impose sanctions on him.
“We will find out which laws or clauses originally listed under the CEC’s jurisdiction may apply to Chen’s case and whether we can intervene as an independent government institution,” CEC secretary-general Teng Tien-yu (鄧天祐) said after a two-hour task force meeting.
Regulations on declaring campaign funds were listed under the Election and Recall Law of Public Servants (公職人員選舉罷免法) and the President and Vice President Election and Recall Law (總統副總統選舉罷免法) until last year. After the clauses moved to other legislation, the CEC lost jurisdiction over violations of the rules.
However, as the case involves acts that occurred before last year, the CEC believes it may still have jurisdiction.
“If the CEC cannot handle the case, we will provide assistance to parties such as the court,” Teng said.
Under the original clauses, “Chen may be fined between NT$500,000 and NT$2.5 million,” he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by