The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday accused Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tu Wen-ching (
At a press conference, KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (
Showing the press copies of TRA documents, Chiu said Tu won the bid last April and later pressured the National Property Administration (NPA) and the TRA to change the plot's zoning.
Chiu said Tu urged the agencies to designate the land as "not for public projects" so that Tu could purchase it at a low cost.
However, the TRA ruled in August against Tu's request, Chiu said.
KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (
Tu yesterday rebutted Chiu's allegations.
"I did establish my campaign headquarters at the location Chiu mentioned. But I did it through the correct legal process. I hope that the media will not be misled by Chiu," Tu said. "I welcome prosecutors to launch a probe."
The TRA also rebutted Chiu's allegations.
"The rent is extremely low because we have held seven previous public bids for the land, but nobody wanted it until Tu participated in the last bid," said Chang Ying-hui (
Chang said the TRA had several other parcels of land that are difficult to lease because they are not zoned for commercial use.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.