Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday threatened to take legal action against the Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine if it failed to clarify its accusations alleging his role in a corruption scandal.
In defending his innocence against the allegations, Wu said he has applied for telephone call records of all his family members to dismiss the allegation that calls were made to Wu Men-chung (吳門忠), a family friend who was allegedly involved in the case.
Wu Den-yih denied that his wife, Tsai Ling-yi (蔡令怡), had made a telephone call to Wu Men-chung last week to confirm his family relations with Cheng Tsai-mei (程彩梅). Cheng is the girlfriend of businessman Chen Chi-hsiang (陳啟祥), who allegedly bribed former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世) with NT$63 million (US$2.15 million) to secure contracts with China Steel Corp (中鋼) and its subsidiaries.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Wu Men-chung, a votes broker for the vice president in his Nantou County hometown, is the father of the daughter-in-law of Chen’s girlfriend.
Wu Men-chung admitted on Wednesday that he had accepted NT$10 million from Chen for introducing him to local legislators for help, including Lin.
The vice president yesterday said he and his family had no knowledge about Wu Men-chung’s behavior and said he would prove his and his wife’s innocence by producing their telephone records.
“Whether Wu Men-chung took money from Chen or not, it’s none of my business. I did not make any calls to him recently, and he did not call me or my wife, either,” he said.
“I am willing to accept public examination using magnifier, microscope or telescope. However, please do not make up stories with distorting mirrors,” he added.
Next Magazine has linked Wu Den-yih to the case by making accusations that Lin bragged about his relations with Wu Den-yih when asking for bribes from Chen, saying he was handling all of Wu Den-yih’s matters.
Wu yesterday asked the magazine for a correction and said he could file a lawsuit if it failed to clarify the issue.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS