The Control Yuan yesterday voted 6-4 to impeach former Council of Agriculture (COA) chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) for illegally constructing a luxury farmhouse on agricultural land without engaging in any agriculture.
“Su used his administrative privileges during his terms as Pingtung County commissioner, minister of the interior and COA chairman to build a farmhouse on an agricultural land as a mansion for his own use. None of the equipment or the remaining land were found to be used for agriculture, which constitutes a violation of the Agricultural Development Act (農業發展條例),” the Control Yuan told a press conference following a meeting to discuss the case.
Su, the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for vice president in the January presidential election, was embroiled in controversy in the run-up to the election for building the farmhouse on agricultural land in Pingtung County for residential use.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
To end months of controversy, Su donated his farmhouse and the farmland to the county’s Changchih (長治) Township Office in October last year and moved his family away from the property.
According to the impeachment statement, in addition to the agricultural land, other farming and grazing land registered under Su’s name was used for Su’s ancestral graves, while the farmhouse itself occupied some township-owned land “with an alleged intention of long-term occupation of state property” and was therefore deemed to violate the Non-urban Land Use Control Regulations (非都市土地使用管制規則).
“As a long-time public servant, Su should have abided by the regulations and set a good example, but instead, he was involved in two cases of illegal land use, used his privileges for personal gain and deliberately broke the laws,” the statement said.
“In light of Su’s aforementioned wrongdoings and his later refusal to undergo Control Yuan questioning, which constituted a breach of the Civil Servants Work Act (公務員服務法), the Control Yuan voted in favor of impeachment and referred Su to the Judicial Yuan’s Commission on the Disciplinary Sanctions of Functionaries for deliberation,” it said.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the decision showed the “decadence” of the Control Yuan and “exactly why” it had lost people’s trust and confidence.
Su’s case and the Yu Chang Biologics Co (宇昌生技股份有限公司) case involving former DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) were both “obvious mud-slinging campaign tactics and political maneuvers” during the presidential campaign, he said.
“While the courts ruled that Su and Tsai were innocent, the Control Yuan still won’t let go and appears determined to pursue the cases to the very end,” Lin said.
“The DPP cannot accept the decision, plain and simple,” Lin said.
At a press conference at Tsai’s foundation, where he now serves as a board member, Su said the decision was a political maneuver “even after the presidential election.”
“Is it necessary for the Control Yuan to come up with the politically motivated impeachment more than six months after the presidential election?” Su asked.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
Two US House of Representatives committees yesterday condemned China’s attempt to orchestrate a crash involving Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s (蕭美琴) car when she visited the Czech Republic last year as vice president-elect. Czech local media in March last year reported that a Chinese diplomat had run a red light while following Hsiao’s car from the airport, and Czech intelligence last week told local media that Chinese diplomats and agents had also planned to stage a demonstrative car collision. Hsiao on Saturday shared a Reuters news report on the incident through her account on social media platform X and wrote: “I
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and
Czech officials have confirmed that Chinese agents surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March 2024 and planned a collision with her car as part of an “unprecedented” provocation by Beijing in Europe. Czech Military Intelligence learned that their Chinese counterparts attempted to create conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, which “did not go beyond the preparation stage,” agency director Petr Bartovsky told Czech Radio in a report yesterday. In addition, a Chinese diplomat ran a red light to maintain surveillance of the Taiwanese
RSS