l to suspend the rights of Taitung County Magistrate Kuang Li-jen as a party member, on grounds that her absence during a recent typhoon has harmed the interests of residents in the county and compromised the image of the party. Chang Po-ya, chairwoman of the ethics panel, said Kuang was invited to present her case yesterday over the negative publicity about her most recent overseas trip to nations in Europe.
Members on the panel then engaged in heated discussion for more than three hours, to make the suggestion of suspending her rights within the party.
The recommendation for action will be forwarded for a final decision by the KMT's Discipline Committee, which will also set the period for the membership suspension.
Ethics panelists said Kuang's decision to stick to her overseas travel plans, instead of returning home to help people cope with the anti-flood campaigns, had harmed public interest and compromised the reputation and image of the KMT.
Furthermore, Kuang has come under a formal investigation by prosecutors who want to find out about potential irregularities of the trips, including whether the public funds were used only for personal tourism purposes.
Prosecutors have already interviewed a dozen mayors of townships in Taitung to determine if their traveling costs were provided by Kuang in exchange for their support in election.
Kuang was also a prominent figure among Taiwan administrators and elected officials who are being probed by the Control Yuan for possible abuse of taxpayer-funded trips overseas.
Kuang made another apology to the public, saying she will accept any ruling adopted by the party.
She also promised full cooperation with prosecutors in their investigation.
KMT leaders were concerned that the recent negative publicity over Kuang's overseas trips could cost the party's chances of retaining the seat of county chief in the next election.
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