Although the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has regulations to root out people associated with gangs from the party, in practice there are clearly shortfalls, DPP Secretary-General Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) said on Sunday after a party member was implicated in a narcotics and fraud investigation.
Chao Chieh-yu (趙介佑) was expelled from the party on Saturday after it was alleged that he was involved in drug trafficking, racketeering, assault and kidnapping related to organized crime.
The accusations involve actions Chao allegedly took after joining the DPP in 2014.
Chao’s father, Chao Ying-kuang (趙映光), and aunt, Chao Hsin-yu (趙心瑜), have over the weekend resigned as review committee convener and executive officer of the DPP’s Taipei chapter respectively.
After calling an emergency meeting on Saturday to expel Chao Chieh-yu, Taipei chapter head Enoch Wu (吳怡農) said that the chapter would review and reform its membership process.
The DPP would investigate how Chao Chieh-yu evaded detection, despite the party’s policies to root out criminal involvement in its membership and leadership, Lin said on Sunday in response to media queries.
The issue lies in implementation, he said, adding that the party would invite local chapter heads to discuss how to close loopholes and better implement the policy.
However, taking the case as a reflection of the entire party would be taking things too far, he said.
The DPP must work hard to eliminate all criminal involvement in politics and elections, or it would affect the party’s image and governance, Lin added.
Reached for comment, DPP Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that as a political party grows, it becomes difficult to prevent different forces from trying to gain positions of influence.
Especially after being in power for a long time, the DPP inevitably carries such baggage and has gradually come to terms with it, he added.
However, it must continue moving forward with the nation, he said, adding that it is time to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the party’s internal structure.
This would include adding more mechanisms to deal with corruption and factionalism, as well as infiltration by “unsavory forces,” he said.
The changes must be made quickly and unsuitable people expelled to meet the public’s expectations and maintain their trust in the party, Lai added.
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
RSS