Taichung's County Council speaker and vice speaker were detained early yesterday morning after nearly 10 hours of questioning in connection with several criminal charges, including murder.
At 3am yesterday morning, the Taichung District Court approved a prosecutors' request to detain county speaker Yen Ching-piao (
The approval will allow prosecutors a maximum of 60 days for questioning.
Both Yen and Chang are to be questioned in connection with alleged corruption, while Yen is also to be questioned over allegations of attempted murder and banditry.
In a rapid response to the detention of Yen and Chang, family members, lawmakers and local representatives came out in full force yesterday, claiming the charges brought against the two were, at best, politically motivated.
Sobbing as she spoke, Yen's wife, Hou Li-juan (侯麗娟), said, "the judicial system is unfair. He is just a victim of political persecution."
Yen's wife was flanked by rows of friends, family members and local representatives.
Among those present was lawmaker and close friend, Tseng Chen-nung (
Tseng said he was willing to stake his political career on Yen's innocence.
"If Yen is found guilty of killing any individual, is guilty of the crime of banditry or of bribery, I will step down from my post as a lawmaker," Tseng said.
"This is a bona fide case of political persecution."
Some speculate that because Yen and Chang are both influential members of Taichung County's two main political factions, the black faction (
For years, under the KMT, the two factions were powerful tools for mobilizing voters and reportedly for funneling election funds and conducting vote buying.
However, after last year's presidential elections and with the formation of the PFP, the power of the two factions has gradually weakened as members of the factions have been divided between the KMT and PFP, political analysts say.
During last year's presidential elections, Yen was kicked out of the KMT after he publicly supported then independent candidate James Soong (
Yesterday, Soong, distanced himself from Yen, saying, politicians "should be careful in what they say," when commenting on the case.
From the moment he was detained, Yen has voiced his innocence.
Television footage yesterday morning showed an exhausted Yen chewing a mouth full of betel nut as he was ushered off to the Taichung County detention center.
Yen, who looks more like a professional wrestler and goes by the nickname of "stone pumpkin," shouted "I haven't been judged yet and already I am guilty," as he was being escorted away by authorities.
Lee Ching-yi (李慶義), head of the Central Taiwan Special Investigative Force, denied accusations that the prosecutors' arrest was politically motivated.
"Prosecutors have been very meticulous and thorough in their approach to this case. All of the documents and evidence related to this case have been collected over a period of one to two years," Lee said.
Super Typhoon Kong-rey is the largest cyclone to impact Taiwan in 27 years, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. Kong-rey’s radius of maximum wind (RMW) — the distance between the center of a cyclone and its band of strongest winds — has expanded to 320km, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. The last time a typhoon of comparable strength with an RMW larger than 300km made landfall in Taiwan was Typhoon Herb in 1996, he said. Herb made landfall between Keelung and Suao (蘇澳) in Yilan County with an RMW of 350km, Chang said. The weather station in Alishan (阿里山) recorded 1.09m of
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
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