Keelung Mayor Hsu Tsai-li (
Hsu died of complications from chronic heart disease, doctors said. He was 60.
Hsu was elected as the Keelung mayor in 2001 and won re-election in 2005 by representing the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
He is best known nationally for his involvement in a corruption scandal relating to a land procurement deal for the Keelung City Government's bus department.
The deal was later called off, after the city council suspected wrongdoing and referred the case to prosecutors, whose investigation centered on Hsu.
The Keelung District Court sentenced Hsu to seven years in prison, after finding him guilty of corruption for trying to sell a piece of his own land to the city's bus department at a large profit.
Hsu was kicked out of the KMT after his conviction in September, although he maintained his position as mayor.
He had protested his innocence until his death and had said he would appeal the ruling, a move that kept him out of prison under the Taiwanese legal system.
Hsu also faced a recall vote, as the KMT and the city council had threatened to force him out of office over the scandal.
The Public Officials Election and Recall Law (
Central Election Commission (CEC) Spokesman Teng Tian-you (
Elections are customarily held on weekends, which means the Keelung by-election would most likely be held on May 12.
In addition to expressing their condolences, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), People First Party and Taiwan Solidarity Union yesterday all said that they would take part in the by-election.
Hsu had been undergoing dialysis treatment to treat diabetes complications. Three toes on his left foot had been amputated after becoming infected when he inspected a flooded area in Keelung in 2002.
Last year, KMT and DPP members launched a joint recall of Hsu after he was convicted of corruption. Since then, Hsu's health had deteriorated.
Hsu started his political career as a local borough chief. He had served as Keelung City councilor since 1982, and had been the speaker of the Keelung City Council for 12 consecutive years since 1990.
In 1997, Hsu withdrew from the KMT and campaigned for the Keelung mayorship, although he lost the election. He made a comeback in 2001, when he was elected mayor on a KMT nomination.
During his re-election bid in 2005, Hsu was accused of involvement in the land procurement scandal, but with full support of former KMT chairman Ma Ying-jeou (
ESCALATING TENSIONS: The US called for restraint and meaningful dialogue after Beijing threatened Taiwanese independence advocates with the death sentence The US on Monday condemned China’s “escalatory and destabilizing language and actions” toward Taiwan after Beijing last week announced new guidelines to punish supporters of Taiwanese independence. Asked about the guidelines, which included the death sentence for “diehard” independence advocates, US Department of State spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We strongly condemn the escalatory and destabilizing language and actions from PRC [People’s Republic of China] officials.” “We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo,” he said at the press briefing. The US urges China to “engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan,” Miller said, adding that “threats and legal
DEATH THREAT: A MAC official said that it has urged Beijing to avoid creating barriers that would impede exchanges across the Strait, but it continues to do so People should avoid unnecessary travel to China after Beijing issued 22 guidelines allowing its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death “Taiwan independence separatists,” the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday as it raised its travel alert for China, including Hong Kong and Macau, to “orange.” The guidelines published last week “severely threaten the personal safety of Taiwanese traveling to China, Hong Kong and Macau,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a news conference in Taipei. “Following a comprehensive assessment, the government considers it necessary to elevate the travel alert to orange from yellow,” Liang said. Beijing has
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday said that the Chinese Communist Party was planning and implementing “major” reforms, ahead of a political conclave that is expected to put economic recovery high on the agenda. Chinese policymakers have struggled to reignite growth since late 2022, when restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted. The world’s second-largest economy is beset by a debt crisis in the property sector, persistently low consumption and high unemployment among young people. Policymakers “are planning and implementing major measures to further deepen reform in a comprehensive manner,” Xi said in a speech at the Great Hall
WATER CONCERNS: The CWA encouraged people to conserve water, as fewer typhoons would bring less rain, and the plum rain season brought in only 60% of average rainfall About two to four typhoons are forecast to come close to Taiwan between now and November, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, as it also forecast that extreme heat would persist throughout the week, only dropping by 1°C after Friday. The number of typhoons is slightly lower than the average of three to five, reflecting a weakening El Nino weather pattern and the possibility of a La Nina pattern approaching, CWA Weather Forecast Center Director Chen Yi-liang (陳怡良) told a news conference in Taipei. While typically fewer typhoons develop under such conditions, their routes would be more likely to pass near