Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of Democratic Progressive Party legislators Chen Min-wen (陳明文) and Yu Tien (余天) as well as other DPP colleagues against three politicians who accused them of associating with a bookmaker.
DPP spokesperson Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成), an attorney, and Huang Di-ying (黃帝穎), the DPP’s legal adviser, filed a defamation lawsuit on Chen’s behalf at the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅), the self-proclaimed “king of lawsuits.”
They also filed defamation lawsuits on behalf of Yu, DPP legislative candidate Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) and Hung Yao-nan (洪耀南) against Chiu, Taipei City Councilor Lin Ruei-tou (林瑞圖) and KMT legislative candidate Ou Chung-ching (歐崇敬) over similar allegations.
During a political talk show on Wednesday night, Chiu said Chen Min-wen had asked Chiayi-based bookmaker Chen Ying-chu (陳盈助) to make arrangements for DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) when she visited the Philippines in June.
“Chen [Min-wen] neither asked the bookmaker to receive Tsai nor help with DPP fundraising in the Philippines,” Kang told reporters.
Chiu also said Chen Ying-chu had hosted Cheng for free trips to Chen Ying-chu’s casinos in Manila and Macau.
Chen Ying-chu has been in the headlines in recent days because of an alleged meeting with President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in September.
Ou said four former DPP chairpersons had befriended Chen Ying-chu, while Lin said that former premier Yu Shyi-kun received a monthly payment of NT$500,000 from the bookmaker, who also reportedly helped Yu Tien to pay off a NT$60 million gambling debt.
“None of the allegations are true,” Kang said.
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Residents have called on the Taipei City Government to reconsider its plan to demolish a four-decades-old pedestrian overpass near Daan Forest Park. The 42-year-old concrete and steel structure that serves as an elevated walkway over the intersection of Heping and Xinsheng roads is to be closed on Tuesday in preparation for demolition slated for completion by the end of the month. However, in recent days some local residents have been protesting the planned destruction of the intersection overpass that is rendered more poetically as “sky bridge” in Chinese. “This bridge carries the community’s collective memory,” said a man surnamed Chuang
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm earlier today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, in this year's Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am, the CWA said. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) with a 100km radius, it said. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA meteorologist Huang En-hung (黃恩宏) said. However, a more accurate forecast would be made on Wednesday, when Yinxing is
NEW DESTINATIONS: Marketing campaigns to attract foreign travelers have to change from the usual promotions about Alishan and Taroko Gorge, the transport minister said The number of international tourists visiting Taiwan is estimated to top 8 million by the end of this year, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said yesterday, adding that the ministry has not changed its goal of attracting 10 million foreign travelers this year. Chen made the remarks at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee to brief lawmakers about the ministry’s plan to boost foreign visitor arrivals. Last month, Chen told the committee that the nation might attract only 7.5 million tourists from overseas this year and that when the ministry sets next year’s goal, it would not include