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By Chen Chih-cheng and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislator Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) yesterday accused party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) of falsely claiming she had demanded financial compensation to resign, as prosecutors launched an investigation into allegations that Li had falsified documents related to her dual Chinese nationality to serve as a legislator.
The TPP’s Central Standing Committee on Monday unanimously voted to revoke Li’s party membership, saying she had demanded compensation to resign from her position as a legislator-at-large, severely damaging the party’s reputation.
Huang yesterday morning reiterated that Li had demanded compensation during a meeting on Tuesday last week, allegedly saying the party should be able “to afford such a small fee.”
Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, back left, speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Huang told reporters that he made it clear that the party would not agree, adding that the statement was recorded in the meeting minutes, which were signed by attendees.
Li yesterday appeared in two SETN political talk shows, denying the allegations and accusing Huang of orchestrating efforts to remove her.
She said she had initially remained silent to avoid harming the party, but spoke out to prevent her silence from being interpreted as agreement.
Li said her remark — “whoever wants me gone should foot the bill” — was not a demand for payment.
She said she had no intention of accepting money from either the party or TPP founder Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and planned to complete her term in August before stepping down voluntarily.
Addressing the dual-citizenship controversy, Li said that TPP Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu (周榆修) had asked her to return to China last year to renounce her Chinese citizenship.
She said she questioned why she should be singled out if other legislators were not required to prove they did not hold dual citizenship.
On Dec. 8 last year, Huang, Chou and TPP caucus director Vicky Chen (陳智菡) again urged her to renounce her Chinese citizenship before the end of the year, Li said.
Prior to leaving for China, she had discussed with Chen how to respond to media inquiries about renouncing her Chinese citizenship, adding that she dared not tell anyone about the trip to China.
Li called on Huang, Chou and Chen to clearly state what had occurred.
Meanwhile, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it has formed a task force, led by the chief prosecutor of the Anti-Corruption Division, to investigate suspected contraventions of the Criminal Code and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例) by Li.
The Central Election Commission also said it has formally notified the Legislative Yuan under Paragraph 2, Article 73 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) to revoke Li’s status as a legislator.
Additional reporting by CNA
