Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members yesterday accused Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Nantou County commissioner candidate Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) of using public funds to build a private club on public land.
Nantou residents should not grant power to politicians with ties to gangsters, DPP caucus director Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
They urged voters to reject Hsu and her family’s involvement in “black gold” politics.
Photo: CNA
Jiji Township (集集鎮) Mayor Chen Chi-heng (陳紀衡) alleged that Hsu and her family used their political influence to build a private club, including a guesthouse and recreational facilities, on public land in Nantou City.
Chen presented photographs, documents and local government records showing construction activity at the site.
The site around Nantou City’s Jili Road is public land, but Hsu’s family acquired it by illegal means and began developing the site in 1995, he alleged.
Hsu’s family later registered paperwork to “lease” three plots of public land around the site in 2001, while the private club was further expanded allegedly by using public funds, he added.
During Hsu’s term in office as Nantou City mayor from 2006 to 2014, 17 projects were commissioned and completed at the site and its surrounding areas, using NT$17.84 million (US$564,271 at current exchange rate) of public money, Chen said.
He said county residents must use their votes to reject Hsu, currently a legislator.
“If she wins the race, Hsu and her family might take over public parks and other sites as their personal property,” Chen said.
Tsai Pei-hui (蔡培慧), a former DPP legislator and the party’s candidate for Nantou County commissioner, showed a list of the 17 projects, including new access roads, road surface improvement, geotechnical engineering for retaining walls, slope stabilization, landscaping and gardening, as well as other construction work.
However, when Hsu was earlier this year confirmed as the KMT’s candidate in the local race, her family quietly dismantled many of the structures, Tsai said.
“They are afraid of being investigated for illegal occupation of public land and using government funds for their benefit,” Lin said.
“If Hsu is elected as county commissioner, will the dismantled structures be rebuilt and will the club expand even further?” she asked.
Lin compared Hsu’s family to Taichung’s Yen Ching-piao (顏清標) clan with its ties to “black gold” politics and influence in local government.
Lin said both families accumulated vast land holdings through questionable means and have allegedly associated with gangsters in the past.
“The two families are similarly engaged in ‘black gold’ politics, with their members getting elected as legislators, councilors or to other powerful offices to misappropriate government money and use public funds to benefit themselves,” Lin said.
Citing past news reports and lawsuits, Lin said: “Hsu’s private family club is well-known as a place for gangsters to negotiate deals. Judicial agencies have carried out numerous searches there since 1995 in connection to criminal investigations.”
“The cases include the possession of illegal firearms, intimidation and threats, sexual assault and forced confinement, along with other criminal activities,” Lin said.
She said that Hsu’s father, Hsu Tien-sung (許天送), was a prominent figure in local politics and was allegedly the boss of the “North-South Mainline” (縱貫線) gang.
“Hsu Tien-sung was the head of the gang and was active in Nantou County. He was convicted for several criminal violations and has served prison terms,” Lin said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS