Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference yesterday that he had spoken with Chang Wei-chin (張瑋津), the estranged wife of former ICRT DJ Charles Mack — better known by his nickname “Chocolate” — and Prosecutor Wu Wen-chung (吳文忠) about an alleged DVD recording of Chang’s husband and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) having intimate relations before last year’s presidential election.
Ker said news of the alleged DVD first came to light before last year’s presidential election, but only Ma and Chang could prove its existence.
He said the prosecutor, Ma and Chang should explain the matter to the public.
When he talked to Chang and Wu Wen-chung about the allegations, Ker said Wu Wen-chung told him that “actually, there are prosecutors of the same inclination.”
Wu told him he had seen the DVD and that it was real, the legislator said.
Ker said Chang did not go public with the alleged recording, preventing former DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) from taking advantage of it during the campaign.
Ker said, however, that he hoped Ma, Chang and Wu would tell the truth about the matter.
Ker’s comments came a day after former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) alleged in court that Wu Wen-chung had prevented a scandal involving the alleged DVD.
Mack, who is a US citizen, was repatriated on Feb. 6, 2004, after law enforcement officers accused him of having intimate relations after being diagnosed with syphilis without telling his partners.
Mack was married to Chang, who said she was a friend of the former president and his wife, Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍).
Chen said Chang had a DVD of Mack and Ma having intimate relations and intended to use the DVD to ruin Ma’s presidential prospects last year.
Wu Wen-chung used his position as a prosecutor to stop her, Chen said.
Asked about the allegation by TV reporters yesterday, Chang said: “Go and ask Ma Ying-jeou, or ask [former Taipei deputy mayor] King Pu-tsung (金溥聰).”
She said that Mack was still her husband as she has yet to file divorce papers.
Meanwhile, several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday criticized the former president.
KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) accused Chen of fabricating the allegations, saying that the former president was jealous because “Ma is more popular and handsome” than Chen.
KMT Legislator Chen Chieh (陳杰) told reporters that Chen Shui-bian did not have the courage to shoulder responsibility for his own behavior.
Chen Chieh also expressed support for the Taipei Detention House’s decision to limit the former president’s exercise time and the number of visitors allowed to see him if he went on hunger strike again.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG
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
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
New Party Deputy Secretary-General You Chih-pin (游智彬) this morning went to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) to “turn himself in” after being notified that he had failed to provide proof of having renounced his Chinese household registration. He was one of more than 10,000 naturalized Taiwanese citizens from China who were informed by the NIA that their Taiwanese citizenship might be revoked if they fail to provide the proof in three months, people familiar with the matter said. You said he has proof that he had renounced his Chinese household registration and demanded the NIA provide proof that he still had Chinese
RSS