Cult leader Sung Chi-li (
He did hold a press conference later, however, at his Kaohsiung residence.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-YI, TAIPEI TIMES
"It wasn't my idea to open the shop. It was one of my followers in Australia who insisted me on doing so," Sung said.
"I am not going to do anything special there. It will only be a place, like a museum, to display my divine photos. It will also be a location for my followers to get together for all kinds of events," he said.
Sung said the 150-ping shop on Er-ling Road in the Hsiaokang district cost his Australian follower approximately NT$100 million.
Yang Chen-chih (
"It is a place for cultural exhibitions. Admission is free," Yang said.
However, only Sung's "divine photos" are on display. The photos usually show Sung with colorful rays of light in the sky and a ring of light around his head.
In 1996 Sung was sued by some followers -- and then indicted on charges of deception -- for obtaining NT$3 billion in donations by claiming to have "supernatural powers" which he could use to help people.
He was convicted of fraud and sentenced to seven years on Oct. 30, 1997, but the High Court overturned the verdict last year, ruling that his activities were simply religious activities, which are protected by the Constitution.
During his trial it was established that the "divine photos" of Sung were enhanced with basic computer graphics. The plaintiffs said Sung used the photos to win people's trust.
During the investigation of the case, Sung insisted that he had supernatural powers and that he could get people to do whatever he commanded.
The police invited him to display his powers in public, but he failed to persuade a police officer who was standing to sit down, despite repeated attempts.
Among Sung's more prominent followers are Kaohsiung Mayor Frank Hsieh (
During a radio interview on Sept. 26, Sung praised Hsieh for his decent character and good heart.
Sung said that Hsieh was the best choice for the Democratic Progressive Party's candidate for the 2008 presidential election.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
New Taipei City prosecutors have indicted a cram school teacher in Sinjhuang District (新莊) for allegedly soliciting sexual acts from female students under the age of 18 three times in exchange for cash payments. The man, surnamed Su (蘇), committed two offenses in 2023 and one last year, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. The office in recent days indicted Su for contraventions of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例), which prohibits "engaging in sexual intercourse or lewd acts with a minor over the age of 16, but under the age of 18 in exchange for
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty