The Control Yuan said it would step up investigations into allegations of improper influence and illegal wiretapping in the government.
Hung Te-hsuan (洪德旋), a member of the top supervisory body, who has been looking into former justice minister Tseng Yung-fu’s (曾勇夫) alleged intervention in a court case, has been joined by another member, Wu Feng-shan (吳豐山), in a bid to make the probe “more comprehensive.”
“We are speeding up our investigation and expect to complete it within two or three months,” Wu said, adding that the Control Yuan can only “act within the law to find out the facts,” as the improper influence case has become more complicated, extending even to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).
Tseng stepped down last month after State Prosecutor General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) gave a press conference disclosing the minister’s alleged involvement in suppressing a court case at the behest of two senior members of the Legislature. Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) allegedly tried to help Democratic Progressive Party caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) avoid further legal battles in a breach of trust case. Ker was found not guilty, but the prosecution was reportedly going to appeal for a re-trial.
Wu also said he and Hung will investigate whether justice officials were acting in accordance with the law when gathering evidence against the legislators.
As for Ma, who doubles as chairman of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), Wu said he will consider the possibility of an “inquiry” with the president over the incident. The Control Yuan’s probe results will not have legal binding force because it only has “administrative investigative” power meant to reprimand malfeasance.
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
CASES SLOWING: Although weekly COVID-19 cases are rising, the growth rate has been falling, from 90 percent to 30 percent, 14 percent and 6 percent, the CDC said COVID-19 hospitalizations last week rose 6 percent to 987, while deaths soared 55 percent to 99, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the recent wave of infections would likely peak this week. People aged 65 or older accounted for 79 percent of the hospitalizations and 90 percent of the deaths, the majority of whom have or had underlying health conditions, CDC data showed. The youngest hospitalized case last week was a six-month-old, who was born preterm and was unvaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said. The infant had a fever, coughing and a runny nose early this month, but