Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation

More groups join Double Ten anti-government rallies

Taipei Times

Taiwan Nation Alliance convener Yao Chia-wen, center, tells a press conference in Taipei yesterday that his group plans to join other civic groups to stage a protest rally against President Ma Ying-jeou on Double Ten National Day tomorrow.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times

Taiwan Nation Alliance convener Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) yesterday said that members of the alliance’s pro-localization groups will take part in a major rally against President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to be staged by activist group Citizen 1985 on Double Ten National Day tomorrow.

“The alliance has three demands: that Ma step down to take responsibility for causing political turmoil; that the Special Investigation Division [SID] of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office be abolished for colluding with the president in conducting illegal wiretapping; and that the cross-strait service trade pact be blocked,” Yao said.

US shutdown reflects KMT attitudes

Taipei Times Editorial

People in most nations have looked on with disbelief this week as the US federal government almost ground to a halt, shutting down all “non-essential services,” everything from national parks and computer Web sites to food and benefit programs for needy women and children.

It seems hard to believe that the members of one political party, the Republicans, could hold an entire nation to ransom, largely because of their dislike of one law: the Affordable Care Act. Their intransigence is harming hundreds of thousands of federal workers, the communities they live and spend money in, and the global economic system because of the risk that the US might default on its debt payment this month.

Prosecutors comparing statements by Ma, others

Taiwan Tati Cultural & Educational Foundation

Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming talks to reporters after he leaves the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday evening.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times

The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it was comparing statements made by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and three others who were summoned on Thursday evening over allegations that Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘) had leaked details of an investigation into a case of alleged improper lobbying by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平).

Ma, Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chang (羅智強) were subpoenaed as witnesses, while Huang was questioned as a defendant.

Clearing up the bugging mess

Taipei Times Editorial

Following the alleged abuse of wiretapping powers by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office Special Investigation Division (SID), Taiwanese have raised concerns over their constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy in communications.

There have been several irregularities in how the SID applied for and conducted its wiretaps, including seemingly unchecked and arbitrary eavesdropping, and procedural irregularities, such as applying for a court order to wiretap one person while actually investigating another. The person subjected to monitoring should be informed after the investigation is concluded for wiretaps to be compliant with the law.

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