Before 41-year-old Yen Ching-piao (
Yen, who got married at age 17, was nicknamed "Piao the stone pumpkin" by his grandfather for his short and stout figure.
After a government crackdown on organized crime in 1986, Yen spent three-and-a-half years in Green Island's maximum-security prison, convicted under martial law. His participation in local politics began soon after he was released.
As a member of the KMT's "black faction (
He became a grandfather the same year when his 18-year-old son Yen Kuan-heng (
Seen as holding sway among local factions and being associated with gangsters, Yen engaged in various businesses, including gravel plants, cement factories and restaurants.
It is unclear whether his investments reach as far afield as China, although he has fought strongly for the opening of direct links with China for the past two years -- ostensibly for for religious purposes, said DPP legislator Chiu Tai-san (
Yen was expelled from the KMT in April, after openly expressing support for independent candidate James Soong (
Long courted by both Soong and the KMT's presidential candidate Lien Chan (連戰), Yen said he decided to throw his support behind Soong because during his tenure as Taiwan Provincial Governor, Soong had visited his constituency more than 200 times and provided ample funds for local infrastructure projects. Yen has also received strong support from the PFP.
Analysts have said Yen's move to back Soong garnered the independent candidate crucial votes during the election in Taichung County.
Although Yen has vowed not to break the law while engineering an upcoming pilgrimage trip to the mainland, his controversial background has left many in doubt about his future intentions.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
RSS