The family of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taichung by-election candidate Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) owns a guest house that was built illegally on national property, National Property Administration Taichung Central District (中區) Division Director Chao Tzu-hsien (趙子賢) said yesterday.
The guest house in Taichung’s Nantun District (南屯) occupies two plots of national land, Chao said, adding that he would commission a lawyer to set up the process of having the building demolished and the land returned to the government, as well as to seek an indictment.
Allegations that the guest house was illegally constructed had prompted calls for an investigation by city officials, so Chao went to survey the property and confirm whether it was illegal.
Photo: Tsai Shu-yuan, Taipei Times
“Looking at aerial photographs we confirmed that the building was constructed in 2004. This use of the land breaches the regulations,” he said. “We will have the property returned and proceed with a legal investigation.”
The building of the guest house might also involve breaches of the Criminal Code, which would be determined by prosecutors via an investigation, he said.
Yen Kuan-heng’s brother, Yen Jen-hsien (顏仁賢), yesterday said that the property would be demolished in two weeks.
Democratic Progressive Party Taichung by-election candidate Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) yesterday said that public figures should “work for the benefit of the public, not for their own benefit of that of their family.”
Voters would use the news as important information when deciding who to vote for in Sunday’s by-election, she said.
The by-election to fill the seat for Taichung’s second electoral district follows the recall of former legislator Chen Po-wei (陳柏惟) of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party in October.
Additional reporting by Ou Su-mei
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique