report alleging that he had taken bribes from a local arms dealing firm. Wu described as "totally unfounded" the Next report that accused him of taking bribes from the "Lai Fu" company, which the magazine said is the biggest arms dealing firm in Taiwan.
But he admitted that during August 2004 and July 2006, when he was not working in the government, he received funding for research work commissioned by Lai Fu.
Wu filed a libel lawsuit with the Taipei District Prosecutors Office against Next, as well as five political figures from the Democratic Progressive Party who had joined the magazine in accusing him of corruption.
Next's editor-in-chief Pei Wei said the magazine was not in a position to stop Wu from taking legal action.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin said he had already instructed the city's anti-corruption department to look into the allegations.
A city spokesperson said the Hau administration had no plans to suspend Wu as demanded by some DPP deputies to the Taipei City Council.
According to the Next report published in its latest issue, beginning in November 2004, Lai Fu remitted a monthly sum of NT$100,000 to Wu's bank account as a form of consultation fee.
Apart from the consultation fee, Lai Fu offered him extra public relations subsidies that would amount to as much as NT$90,000 a month.
Lai Fu is said to be the agent for Canada-based Bombardier Inc., which in 2003 won an electrical engineering contract for the Neihu line project of Taipei's mass rapid transit (MRT) systems.
In 2003, Wu was still playing a key role in the Taipei City government under then Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, the magazine said, questioning whether it was not a case of conflict of interests.
Wu left the city government in August 2004, but when he returned in June 2006 to manage Hau's mayoral campaign, he had the Lai Fu fees remitted to a bank account belong to another person, called Lee Chun-ju, said Next.
Lai Fu now still remits the monthly fees to the bank account, the report alleged.
But Wu maintained that between August 2004 and June 2006 he returned to his teaching job at Shih Hsin University.
As an expert in armament races, Wu said he was commissioned to conduct research on related topics during those two years, including one project for Lai Fu.
He claimed his work for Lai Fu stopped in June 2006, and he had received a monthly fee of only NT$90,000 from the company, with no extra allowances.
DPP legislative Whip William Lai said the very first work for the incoming justice minister, Wang Ching-feng, for the Ma administration should be to investigate the Wu case.
Lai also questioned whether Ma had been involved in the alleged corruption.
DPP Taipei City Councilors demanded that Wu be suspended from his deputy mayoral office pending investigation.
But their KMT counterparts voiced their support for Wu, demanding the DPP councilors produce evidence that the deputy mayor was involved in corruption.
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