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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Lawyer to assess ‘China Times’ liability
Boxes of cigarettes are stacked on forklift pallets at a depot on July 27. Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE? A ‘China Times’ report was fabricated so that senior officials could be wrongly accused of receiving gifts of cigarettes, the Presidential Office said
By Sherry Hsiao / Staff writer, with CNA
The Presidential Office yesterday said that a report by the Chinese-language China Times about a secret fund having been used in a cigarette-smuggling case was false, and that it would hold the newspaper accountable for publishing the story.
Citing an anonymous source, the China Times yesterday said in an article that money used to smuggle cigarettes was not completely paid out-of-pocket, but was from a fund, allegedly a secret public fund.
The source spoke to the newspaper to prevent aspects of the case from being covered up and allowing those responsible to escape justice, as the investigation is about to be closed, the newspaper said.
The China Times report is fabricated and uses a fake source so that senior officials from the office and other agencies could be wrongly accused of receiving gifts of cigarettes from those implicated in the cigarette-smuggling case, the office said.
The office and the National Security Council, as well as the National Security Bureau’s Department of Government Ethics, which has completed its own thorough administrative investigation, presented all relevant evidence — including people’s involvement in the illegal activity, how the cigarettes were purchased and how the incident unfolded — to the judiciary for further investigation, it said.
According to the security bureau’s investigation, no administrative officials from the office or the council, or employees with access to confidential information, were involved, it added.
The office, the council and the bureau are resolved to get to the bottom of any illegal activity and to give their full cooperation to the judiciary in its investigation, the office said.
The China Times report contains a number of fabrications, cooperates with certain political parties in a smear effort and misleads public opinion, it said.
In addition to issuing a complete denial, the office said that it has tasked a lawyer with determining responsibility for the report so that such fabrication does not become the norm.
During the security bureau’s investigation, none of the interviewed subjects mentioned that the cigarettes were gifted to senior officials or that there was a private fund, the bureau said in a statement.
The China Times report does not correspond to the truth, it added.
The investigation is ongoing, so the security bureau is not in a position to comment, the office said.
No bonuses were given for the special mission, it added, referring to the president’s overseas trip that immediately preceded the uncovering of the smuggled cigarette cartons.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
