Taiwan Vice Premier Chiou I-jen Monday quit the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) under mounting criticism over the island losing 30 million US dollars meant to win diplomatic recognition from Papua New Guinea (PNG), the dpa reported.
"I feel deeply sorry to the country and people over the Taiwan-PNG scandal. In addition to cooperating with the judicial authorities in investigating the case, effective today, I withdraw from the DPP which I deeply love," he said in a statement.
He also said after he and the DPP government step down on May 20, he will quit politics forever. The DPP will have to hand over power to the Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) on May 20 after losing the presidency in the March 22 election.
Chiou has offered to resign as vice premier, but Premier Chang Chun-hsiung has yet to approve his resignation, saying Chiou should stay put to help resolve the problem.
Chiou has come under fire from fellow party colleagues who demanded that he leave the DPP to avoid further damaging its image.