Investigators yesterday summoned two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians in Chiayi County for questioning on suspicion of involvement in an irregular construction bid, in a move that the opposition said may have been politically motivated.
The Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said in a press statement that DPP Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) and DPP Legislator Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), who is a former Chiayi county commissioner, as well as a number of county officials were summoned for questioning in the morning.
Former Council for Economic Planning and Development vice chairman Chang Ching-sen (張景森) and a contractor, Chun Lung Development Co (春龍開發公司) chairman Pan chung-hao (潘中豪), were also questioned.
Photo: CNA
A total of 60 people were questioned, the office said. Questioning was ongoing as of press time last night.
The office said that 13 prosecutors with the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office led 150 agents from the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) to search the county government, Chang’s residence, her daughter’s residence and other targets.
The prosecutors’ office said the investigation was looking into the Dapumei (大埔美) Intelligent Industrial Park at the Dapumei Herbs Park, which was a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project.
The prosecutors said that in the proposal, the county government and the contractor each provided NT$1.5 billion (US$50 million) for the project, while Chun Lung Development Co won a public tender held by the county government.
Prosecutors said they suspected Pan had bribed Helen Chang, Chang Ching-sen and Chen Ming-wen with “several million” or “tens of millions” of New Taiwan dollars to ensure his company obtained the project.
County government spokeswoman Hsu Shu-fen (許淑芬) told a press conference that 16 government officials, including Helen Chang, were summoned for questioning.
Vice Commissioner Lin Mei-chu (林美珠) said she had convened a meeting for chief officials of the county government, adding that she believed the county government was clean and innocent, and hoped that all officials could continue to work as hard as usual.
Lin said the county government had contacted the families of the officials who were being questioned and would keep them informed of the developments in the case.
Responding to the raids, DPP spokesperson Wang Min-sheng (王閔生) said that as the investigation into a corruption scandal involving former Executive Yuan secretary-general Lin Yi-shih (林益世), which has threatened to engulf the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Vice President Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), was ongoing, the sudden raid at the Chiayi County Government could be an attempt by prosecutors to shift attention away from the KMT administration.
Wang said the launch of the investigation was suspicious and could very well be motivated by politics.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or
RSS